Bullets to Birds

Please click on the above picture to read the fascinating history of the Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant

We visited the Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge today. It was formerly the Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant. We didn’t know a lot about this Refuge before today but we found the story about the ammunition plant fascinating.

On September 9, 1988, Longhorn played a significant role in history when it was the site where the first U.S. missiles were destroyed as a part of the U.S. and Soviet INS (Intermediate-range Nuclear forces) treaty.


Rocket Motor displayed at the Visitor Center

The Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge was opened to the public on September 26, 2009.

We followed the auto tour road that is one of the original roads through the ammunition plant. It was a nice drive into the area where we could still see evidence of the ammunition plant. As far as we could tell, we were the only visitors in the Refuge.




Ammunition Magazine

Several of the signs and the ammunition magazines are still along the roads.

(Ammunition magazines are large, above-ground, earth-covered bunkers used to store munitions at almost all military facilities.)


Click to enlarge

A primary factor in establishing the Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge was to ensure the conservation and protection of migratory and resident waterfowl and neotropical migratory birds associated with Caddo Lake wetlands.

Studies have listed up to 224 species of birds, 22 species of amphibians, 46 species of reptiles, and 93 species of fish in this area.


Blue Grosbeak


Carolina Wren


Orchard Oriole


Red-eyed Vireo


Lanceleaf Coreopsis


Crimson Clover