Planning for a protected Cold War facility near Washington, D.C. began in 1948 for relocation of military National Command Authorities and the Joint Communications Service.
[15] The planned deep underground communications center was identified in the original 1950 federal petition to seize the Beard Lot, a 1,500-foot-high, mile-long hill located at Fountaindale and extending east and south along the Waynesboro-Emmitsburg road,[16] The "Declaration of Taking" for United States of America v. 1,100 Acres of Land was filed at the Adams County courthouse on 23 January 1951, and made the government the official owner of the 280-acre tract seized from four properties (17 total properties had been requested by 15 February—some only for temporary use).
[23] By 20 October 1951, there had been two deaths: one, Roland P. Kelly, of PenMar MD due to premature dynamite detonation in the Beard Lot tunnel, and a power shovel operator from Phillipsburg named Leroy Fleagle who suffered crushing injuries.
[27] By 29 March 1952, more than 100 workers were striking from building additional Raven Rock housing at Camp Ritchie, which was to be a supplemental installation for the underground Pentagon at Fountaindale.
[28] Local travelers having to bypass on the serpentine on the slope between Monterey and Fountaindale grew frustrated during the delay (the incomplete tunnel was derogatorily dubbed "Harry's Hole," for President Truman.)
[39] On 1 July 1958 Raven Rock's USAF facility, ADCC (Blue Ridge Summit), became one of the 33 NORAD Alert Network Number 1 stations (but with receive-only capability as at TAC Headquarters, Sandia Base, and the Presidio at San Francisco.)
[36] In November 1960, consoles at the Pentagon's Joint War Room became operational,[40] and the Raven Rock JACE was activated on 11 July 1961 under USAF Brig.
Gen. Willard W. Smith [with the 5] staffs permanently stationed in Washington and an administrative section at Ft. Ritchie—rotations began in October 1961[36] (Fort Ritchie also had the OSD Defense Emergency Relocation Site.
Raven Rock's joint War Room, USAF ADCC, and other facilities were designated the Alternate National Military Command Center (ANMCC) on 1 October 1962 when the Burroughs SS-416L Control and Warning Support System with the Semi Automatic Ground Environment had been deployed (Back-Up Interceptor Control began at North Bend AFS in December.)
§ 2674(g) and on May 25, 2007, DoD policy declared it is unlawful for any person entering or on the property ..."to make any photograph, sketch, picture, drawing, map or graphical representation of the Raven Rock Mountain Complex without first obtaining the necessary permission.
"[50] In 1977, the bunker had an Emergency Conference Room, and the Current Action Center was a military intelligence unit (an Air Force general was responsible for overseeing the installation's communications).