When the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program announced that it was documenting the Titan II missile silos in the state, the newspaper story caught the eye of this former president and editor of the Historical Society because she was personally acquainted with Site 11.
The [newspaper announcement] caught my attention because Site 11 was located on my father’s farm. What surprised me was the statement that they were hard to find. Just go to the White County Court House and check the land deeds for Willie B. Smith and the Missile Base. (He was my father.) Every transaction is recorded and there were many. They would buy a plot and return it when that need was met. I believe they owned five plots when the project was finished. All real estate was returned to the original owners.
There was very little contact between the local people and the Air Force. Some local people had gardens that did not produce as expected, eggs did not hatch, the wells went dry, etc. But if there was a grass fire the Air Force would be there in a few minutes with manpower and supplies to have it under control in a very short time.
The map [in the newspaper article] shows Albion [as Site
11] on Highway 16 between Searcy and Heber Springs. Actually,
it is about two miles north of Albion on Highway 16 when you make
a right turn on Highway 305 and just a few yards, make a right
turn on a private road (blacktop). Several new houses have been
built on this road and there are fields and cattle pastures but
… the Missile Base is GONE.