The Underground Shelter of the Fortitude Ranch, a Surviving Compound of Survivalist Compounds in Washington, D.C.

The West Virginia branch of the Fortitude Ranch is a constellation of survivalist compounds across the United States attempting to seize on Americans’ growing anxiety about the future.

Some of the rooms, which vary in size and luxury, are stocked with plastic bins and duffel bags, as if awaiting a college student. There is a serious purpose at work here. There is a large underground shelter protected by layers of concrete, steel and wood and it is used to connect the two residential buildings. (There are also underground living and meeting rooms.) Inside a locked armory, assault rifles and crossbows repose on wall pegs. On a tabletop sits a 50-caliber rifle, which could be used to take out the engine block of an approaching vehicle. An inert radiation detector is positioned nearby. There are two at each compound. The property has guard towers. The dormitories have balconies that overlook the edge of the forest.