Hidden history: The secretive role of Point Sur Naval Facility in the Cold War

By Paul Dudley

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    BIG SUR, Calif. (KSBW) — It is a place of mystery hidden in plain sight off Highway 1 along the Big Sur Coast. Maybe you’ve driven by, never knowing the secrets from within.

Point Sur Naval Facility, located in the shadow of the Point Sur Lighthouse, was one of the most secretive places in the world from 1958 through 1984 and played a crucial role in helping the United States win the Cold War. Today, many buildings are weathered, rusted, or crumbling, with California State Parks and a group of volunteers working to change that. With special permission, we were able to visit the property, which is closed to the public most of the time, with someone who used to call this place home.

“What a difference 60 years make,” said K.C. McGrath, who lived at the Point Sur Naval Facility when he was 8 years old. He loved it. His dad, Lt. Cmdr. Ronald McGrath, was the commanding officer from 1962 to 1963.

“I can feel my family’s presence here,” said McGrath, who is now 68, as we walked the property.

The naval facility was one of 30 top-secret sites worldwide built during the Cold War. The goal was to detect Soviet submarines using the classified sound surveillance system, or SOSUS, technology once kept in a large building behind a fence and a guard shack.

“I do remember the other brothers and sisters telling me not to ask dad what he does. Just don’t bring it up and don’t talk about it, and we never did. It was always a secret, ” McGrath said.

SOSUS was undetectable by submarines, according to Carol O’Neil with Central Coast Lighthouse Keepers, allowing the U.S. Navy to detect the location of Soviet submarines without the Soviets knowing.

“It has cables that ran out into the ocean starting in the 1950s; the cables had hydrophones, and they could listen for Soviet submarines,” O’Neil said. “And the beauty was that the Soviets didn’t know we could do this.”

The technology was so sophisticated that they could identify individual submarines just by their sound signatures.

“I’d argue that our ability to track those Soviet submarines and get air resources on them if we needed to, anti-submarine air resources on them, was critical in us winning the Cold War,” Matt Bischoff, state historian with the Monterey District of California State Parks.

The work was so secretive that the public was told a different story. The facility even had a fake logo.

“The community was told that this was a place for oceanographic research, and very little other information was given out,” Bischoff said.

While the public was not told what was happening here, rumors still spread.

“My favorite was that there were submarine pins underneath the station here, no or underneath the Lighthouse rock,” O’Neil said, “and some people in Big Sur will say, ‘Oh, we knew what was happening here.’ And I am like, ‘No, you really didn’t.”

“I have heard lots of different rumors about how the area was used, but I think the truth is just as interesting as any of those rumors,” Bischoff said.

The naval facility grew to include a gym, a bowling alley, a movie theater, and several bars on base before it officially closed in 1984. All the buildings, except the one housing the SOSUS technology, were eventually given from the Navy to State Parks, which used part of it as housing for a period. With time and neglect, many buildings are in near ruin, including McGrath’s old home.

“It is hard to believe mom raised six kids here,” McGrath said as he walked through the door. “It hurts my heart to see it in such disrepair, but, of course, that is what happens over time with neglect, but I’d sure like to see these buildings repurposed.”

That is what State Parks and the volunteer group Central Coast Lighthouse Keepers would like to see as well. They recently added limited tours on weekends, a small exhibit and gift shop, and more buildings restored, which would mean people would get a better understanding of what this place looked like when it was open.

“We’d like to do what we have been able to do at the light station, and that is to restore this place so the public could walk here, see what it looked like and understand what it did,” said John O’Neil, Carol’s husband and another volunteer.

State Parks is working closely with the Central Coast Lighthouse Keepers on restoration projects at Pt. Sur Naval Facility is actively seeking funding sources to help with park improvements, including getting utilities at the park as a high priority, according to State Parks.

“Central Coast Lighthouse Keepers have been great partners with State Parks on multiple projects at Point Sur Naval Facility and the Pt. Sur Lighthouse,” said Mike Dippel, chief ranger, Monterey District of California State Parks.

While McGrath is saddened by the condition of his old family home, he says he is still thankful for the chance to look back and reflect some six decades later.

“Unfortunately, my dad never talked about it, so I had to read about it to find out the specifics of what he did and how important it was to national security. Really made me proud,” McGrath said.

The sound surveillance system at Point Sur is one of the last remaining facilities of its kind and the only one remaining on the West Coast. Today, the cable is not intact for its full length. Navy officials say it is too expensive to repair, even for scientific research.

The building where it once was stored is still owned by the Navy. We are told they use it to house equipment for oceanographic research.

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