C Battery

C battery, along with A and D Battery, was dispatched to south Florida during October 1962 when President Kennedy ordered the units to defend the southern coast of Florida.

C Battery was originally located east of NW 57th Avenue (Red Road), west of NW 47th Avenue, north of NW 183rd Street and south of the Florida Turnpike which was not built then. The unit designation was HM-01.

1962 - 1965

Admin/IFC Area - The men lived in tents, had no traditional electricity or running water. (Satellite View and Photo)

Launch Area - The radars and missiles were exposed to the weather and sank in the muck. (Satellite View and Photo)

Click here for Nike Drill Video

Click here to see a Nike "kill" Video

1965 - 1979

In In June 1965, C Battery was relocated approximately on mile east to the other side of Red Road.

Admin/IFC - The administrative/IFC area was located just west of NW 57th Avenue (Red Road) and just north of NW 183rd Road (Miami Gardens Drive). (Satellite View and Photo)

Launch Area - The launch area was relocated near the intersection of NW 57th Avenue (Red Road) and NW 202 Street (Honey Hill Road). (Satellite View and Photo)

C Battery was decommissioned in the summer of 1979.

ADMIN/IFC After Decommission in 1979

C Battery has been referenced to as having been located in the following cities or communities: Carol City, Miami Gardens, Miramar, Hialeah, Opa Locka, and Miami Lakes.

The most perplexing conflict is that it has been reported by various veterans who were actually stationed there that the Admin/IFC Area was located near the American High School, a Publix food market, a Marine/Naval Reserve Center, and the Hialeah Post Office. These facilities are near each other but several city blocks separate them.

At least we can be sure of the following facts:
    1. The Admin / IFC area was deeded to the United States Postal Service
    2. A post office was constructed on the property at 6191 NW 183rd Street
    3. The Marine/Naval Reserve Center is located at 18650 NW 62nd Avenue
    4. The American High School is located at 18350 NW 67th Avenue

I could not locate a Public food market anywhere near the property.

In response to my plea for clarification, a well-known and trusted Miami historian and photographer, Don Boyd (www.pbase.com/donboyd/memories), provided the following facts:

Carol City - The 1962-1965 site was in what is known as Carol City, an unincorporated development in Dade County.

Miami Gardens - Miami Gardens didn't exist then. The only Miami Gardens name was the co-designator name for NW 183rd Street and where they came up with that name is unknown to me.

Miramar - Miramar was further north over the Dade-Broward county line

Hialeah - Hialeah does not extend north of W. 84th Street (NW 138 Street in Dade County), miles south of the Admin/IFC

Opa-locka - Opa-locka (the correct spelling) only goes as far north as NW 151st Street, and as far west as NW 37th Avenue (Douglas Road) east of the airport and slightly further west south of the airport and all of it is miles to the southwest of the Admin/IFC site

Miami Lakes - Miami Lakes' northernmost point is the east-west leg of the Palmetto Expressway which is the equivalent of NW 167th Street, 16 blocks south of NW 183rd Street.

How did the Miami Lakes name get involved? Here's where the stupidity comes in. No one north of the Palmetto Expressway and west of Red Road wanted to say they were in Carol City, which was closer to them in a lot of cases, so they said they lived or worked in Miami Lakes which was/is a wealthier more attractive area.

The development of Miami Lakes was only south of the Palmetto Expressway west of Red Road. The people north of the Palmetto Expressway no more live in Miami Lakes than they live in Juneau, Alaska, yet they continue to say they live in Miami Lakes.  

The identity problem is caused by two reasons:
1. The U. S. Postal Service
2. Public stupidity about local geography

Opa-Locka Post Office - The U. S. Post Office at Opa-locka (zip code 33054) served the area north of the City of Opa-locka all the way up to the Broward County line and east of Red Road. Thus all mail to addresses in that area were supposed to use Opa-locka, FL 33054 because of the servicing Post Office. Mailing address does not define the actual location, which was unincorporated Dade County for everything north of the City of Opa-locka.

Hialeah Post Office - The Hialeah Post Office (33010-33016) served all the areas north of Hialeah (including Miami Lakes which was supposed to use Hialeah 33014 in their addresses until the USPS approved a co-designation of Hialeah and Miami Lakes for 33014) and west of Red Road, and like Opa-locka, all mail was supposed to have Hialeah, FL 33014 (or 33015) on the address so that the mail would go through the correct Post Office. Again, the mailing address does not define the actual location.

All Hialeah Post Offices are inside the City of Hialeah city limits and 183rd Street is way north of NW 138 Street which is the northern edge of Hialeah. The correct name of the Post Office at 6191 NW 183 Street is: (copied from the USPS) Post Office™ Location - MIAMI GARDENS 6193 NW 183RD ST HIALEAH, FL 33015-9998.

Regardless of the name, of all the sites named, that is the closest to where the Admin/IFC was.

The location of the Admin/IFC from 1965 - 1979 was located in unincorporated Dade County which is not even mentioned as one of the locations. The site was west of Carol City which only went west to NW 57th Avenue (Red Road). There was no community known as Miami Gardens until they incorporated in the early 2000's, long after the site disappeared. (See above for why it was not in Opa-locka, Hialeah or Miami Lakes).

American High School - American High School is on the west side of NW 67th Avenue and south of NW 186th Street - or about 9 blocks west and two blocks south.

Publix Shopping Center - The Publix shopping center is on the southwest corner of NW 67th Avenue and 186th Street - again, about 9 blocks west of the old Admin/IFC site. Both the American High School and Publix are nowhere near the former Admin/IFC or launch areas and weren't built until the late 70's/early 80's.

Marine/Naval Reserve Center - The Marine/Naval Reserve Training Center is most likely built on the far western portion of the Admin/IFC site. I don't know exactly how large the parcel of land was but it makes sense that the Marine/Naval Reserve Training Center was built on former Army property.

I've lived either in Hialeah and Miami Lakes since 1957 except for a four year stint in Miramar from 1970 to 1974. However, my family and friends were all in Hialeah so I was in Hialeah numerous times during those years.

When traveling between Hialeah and Miramar I used to go north on Red Road and then east on NW 183rd Street and then north on NW 47th Avenue to Pembroke Road in Miramar and then east to where I lived.

I drove past the old Admin/IFC a lot and I've been to the guard gate there several times in the late 1960's when I was active duty Coast Guard and in the early 1970's. I shot the breeze with the gate guards a few times, after showing my active duty and then reserve military ID cards, and they were always reasonably friendly.

At least two or three of them told me that the missiles were not there, that they were "up in Miramar" to the north (This was true since the actual launch area was in Miramar). I was always curious about the place so I paid attention to it.

This is my recollection: There was a dirt road running westward from the intersection of Red Road (NW 57 Avenue) and NW 183 Street.

The entrance to the Admin/IFC was no more than one block west of Red Road because it was a very short drive. That would make it NW 58 Avenue and 183rd Street.

Red Road was unpaved north of NW 183rd Street and virtually all northbound traffic on Red Road made a right onto NW 183rd Street to go east. If you made a left off of Red Road onto the dirt road you would be at the entrance to the Admin/IFC in one block.

The Army's property extended to the west of the entrance and north of the entrance - how far, I don't know because it was fenced in and entry prohibited.

One of my best friends going back to junior high days will attest to the above information, plus he used to fly private aircraft out of Opa-locka Airport a lot back in the 60's and he knew exactly where both sites were because they were in prohibited over-flight areas.

If you can find an aeronautical chart of South Florida from back in the 60's/70's they are probably depicted on them. I'll ask my buddy if he has any idea of where to obtain such a chart in the meantime.

Don Boyd - www.MiamiMemories.com

Historical Background of Launch Area

The site on which the launch area is located was originally a portion of the Everglades wetland area. After the Snake Creek canal was installed to drain the wetlands in 1952, the property laid fallow until the property was utilized by the United States Army as a Nike Hercules missile site during and following the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962-1979).

Since October 1980, the FLARNG has leased the site from the Department of Army and occasionally uses it for unit training. The site has been unoccupied since that time.

Launch Area After Decommission

The former launch area was located along the Snake Creek Canal. After deactivation as a Hercules Missile Site, the launch area facility was vacant until it was deeded to the Army National Guard as a weekend training site.

The site has been unoccupied since that time although there are plans to develop the Florida Army Reserve National Guard (FLARNG) Snake Creek Training Center.

A trailer park was built on the adjacent property at the intersection of NW 57th Avenue and NW 202 Street.

For many years, there were unauthorized and unregulated dumpsites throughout the property. These dumpsites were overgrown with vegetation.

Although the fences state, "NO TRESPASSING, U.S. GOVERNMENT PROPERTY," and were patrolled by the Miramar Police Department, the fences around the site are in a state of disrepair and did not prevent casual entry to the site by neighborhood residents.

The lack of competent fencing allowed trails to be cut into the vegetation and apparent unauthorized use of same by ATV’s and other vehicles to gain access to the borrow pit area for recreational use. Many users build campfires around the pit.

All of the buildings on the property had been heavily vandalized were not considered useable. All doors, windows and potentially valuable equipment were scavenged, with the exception of the steel and asbestos blast doors and escape hatches in the underground console sections and the electrical pumps in the lift station and pump house." 

The three underground section rooms on site posed a potential entrapment hazard because the blast doors and escape hatches were still in place and could jam shut.

The Missile Assembly Building, Ready Building, Section Barns, Generator Buildings, POL sheds, and other structures were demolished in 2007. 

Until 2007, when the property was bulldozed, (except for the berms) there were large Brazilian Pepper trees growing up through the entire launch area. The lift station and blower building adjacent to the plant was open to casual access.

Future Plans

The Florida Army Reserve National Guard (FLARNG) has planned the development of the Snake Creek Readiness Center.

In January 2004, The Florida National Guard, produced a report prepared by SpecPro, Inc., of Cocoa Beach, Florida, titled ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE SURVEY SNAKE CREEK LOCAL TRAINING AREA, MIRAMAR FLORIDA.

The Environmental Baseline Survey (EBS) was prepared in advance of the potential out-grant of the North Portion (North of Snake Creek Canal) of the Snake Creek Local Training Area (Snake Creek LTA) property.

The report stated, "The Snake Creek Readiness Center is envisioned to be a modern, state-of-the-art training facility for FLARNG to serve southern Florida area. The HHC 1/124th Infantry, Ballard, Miami Armory and CO C 1/124th Infantry are currently located in Hollywood, Florida. The facilities are inadequate to fully support the assigned units due to the lack of parking, storage and training areas.

The units' ability to meet their readiness, recruiting and retention, and training objectives will continue to be adversely affected if the personnel are not provided with adequate facilities. The lack of adequate classrooms, supply rooms, arms vaults, showers, kitchen facilities, and parking areas adversely affect the training and quality of life of current units and make meeting their mission essential training requirements difficult if not impossible. The Snake Creek site was selected for the development of a modern training facility to serve the needs of the FLARNG.

"What can I do to help?," you asked.

You can help preserve the history of all the Nike Hercules sites in south Florida in the following ways:

1. Volunteer to work at a Nike site in south Florida -
Seasonal tours are conducted January through March. If you are interested in volunteering, see Links page.

2. Share Your Nike experiences for others to enjoy - Provide photographs, documents, and a written history of your experiences - See Links page

Charles D. Carter
3535 Peachtree Rd, NE
Suite 520-417
Atlanta, GA 30326

3. Conduct an oral interview over the phone - If you would agree to being interviewed over the telephone, see Links page.

4. Make comments or suggestions to: NikeHistorian@Nike252.Org