Mississippi has a lively history that includes many notorious events. It also includes several lesser known happenings, such as the nuclear tests of the 1960s. Known as Project Dribble, the tests involved detonating two nukes. Since the explosives were set off underground in a secluded location, the government expected the testing to go unnoticed; however, it didn’t exactly work out that way. Read on to learn more about this insane part of Mississippi’s history (and make sure to check out the video below).

Nuclear test sites may seem like something that exist only on remote islands or in faraway wastelands; however, there’s one located 28 miles southwest of Hattiesburg.

Jimmy Emerson, DVM/Flickr The site was selected after nuclear scientists investigated several potential locations throughout the state.

Officially known as Project Dribble, two nuclear devices were set off at the site between 1964 and 1966.

Atomic Journeys: Mississippi Segment/YouTube The tests were conducted in the midst of the Nuclear Test Ban because the US government wanted to find out if other countries could defy the ban by doing underground tests that would be undetectable.

The first of the two detonations took place on October 22, 1964.

Atomic Journeys: Mississippi Segment/YouTube Code named Salmon, the bomb was placed 3,000 feet below the Earth’s surface into the Tatum Salt Dome (an underground supply of salt left over from the Mesozoic Era when the area was covered by the sea).

Sterling, the code name for the second bomb, was detonated a little over two years later on December 3, 1966.

Atomic Journeys: Mississippi Segment/YouTube The second explosive was placed inside the cavity that had been left by the Salmon explosion.

Prior to the bombs being set off, an area 5 miles downwind and 2 miles upwind from the test site was evacuated.

Mississippi Department of Archives and History Inconvenienced residents were paid $10 per adult and $5 per child for their trouble; however, many were unhappy with that amount when they returned home to find collapsed shelving, cracks in their ceilings, and wells that had run dry. Those who didn’t evacuate said they felt “three separate shocks, during which the soil rose and fell like ocean waves.”

According to records, effects of the blast were felt up to two miles away.

Atomic Journeys: Mississippi Segment/YouTube Though just one-third as powerful as the bomb dropped on Hiroshima decades earlier, the bombs tested in Mississippi were still strong enough to cause tall buildings in Hattiesburg to sway for several minutes. More than just physical, the effects were visible as well – the shockwave shook pecans from pecan trees, while the churned-up silt caused rivers and streams to run black.

Check out the video below for actual nuclear test footage, including an up close view at the damage caused by the massive bombs.

Jimmy Emerson, DVM/Flickr

The site was selected after nuclear scientists investigated several potential locations throughout the state.

Atomic Journeys: Mississippi Segment/YouTube

The tests were conducted in the midst of the Nuclear Test Ban because the US government wanted to find out if other countries could defy the ban by doing underground tests that would be undetectable.

Code named Salmon, the bomb was placed 3,000 feet below the Earth’s surface into the Tatum Salt Dome (an underground supply of salt left over from the Mesozoic Era when the area was covered by the sea).

The second explosive was placed inside the cavity that had been left by the Salmon explosion.

Mississippi Department of Archives and History

Inconvenienced residents were paid $10 per adult and $5 per child for their trouble; however, many were unhappy with that amount when they returned home to find collapsed shelving, cracks in their ceilings, and wells that had run dry. Those who didn’t evacuate said they felt “three separate shocks, during which the soil rose and fell like ocean waves.”

Though just one-third as powerful as the bomb dropped on Hiroshima decades earlier, the bombs tested in Mississippi were still strong enough to cause tall buildings in Hattiesburg to sway for several minutes. More than just physical, the effects were visible as well – the shockwave shook pecans from pecan trees, while the churned-up silt caused rivers and streams to run black.

So, did you know these nuclear tests were conducted in Mississippi? Did you or someone you know live in the area while the testing occurred? Tell us in the comments section.

If you enjoyed this, be sure to read “9 Shocking Things You Had No Idea Happened In Mississippi.“

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