Secrets of little-known US town dubbed ‘The Quiet Zone’ where cellphones, Wi-Fi and microwaves are ILLEGAL… and its connection to alleged Government spy hub

As you approach the small town of Green Bank, West Virginia, signs warn that you are entering the ‘Quiet Zone’ – an area where cell phones and Wi-Fi are prohibited.

It is one of the few places on earth where people are not connected 24 hours a day, and it has become a Mecca for people tired of the modern world and for ‘electrosensitive’ people who think they are suffering from symptoms caused by Wi-Fi and mobile phones.

The reason for the ‘silence’, electronically speaking, is the enormous satellite dishes at Green Bank, West Virginia, home to the largest steerable radio telescope in the world, the Robert C Byrd Green Bank Telescope.

‘Anything that could disrupt the radio telescope is prohibited.

A new documentary, Small Town Universe, which premiered in New York this week, and a recent book The Quiet Zone explore the town and its mysteries – including local rumors about secrets buried beneath the mountain.

It is one of the few places on earth where people are not connected 24 hours a day, and it has become a Mecca for people tired of the modern world and for ‘electrosensitive’ people who think they are suffering from symptoms caused by Wi-Fi and mobile phones

Thanks to the city’s radio telescopes, Wi-Fi is prohibited

The film’s director, Katie Dellamaggiore, said she was inspired to make the film after the birth of her second child because she felt like she relied too much on her cell phone to stay in touch with friends.

She asked her husband if there was a city without cell phones.

She said, “I did what we all do and Googled, ‘Is there a city without cell phones?’ and that’s how I discovered Green Bank, West Virginia.

‘The city’s unique, ‘unplugged’ lifestyle immediately caught my attention.

‘Even more intriguing, scientists are using the Green Bank Telescope to investigate some of science’s greatest mysteries, such as how the universe began and whether intelligent life exists beyond Earth.

The reason for the ‘silence’, electronically speaking, is the huge satellite dishes at Green Bank, West Virginia

The locals have adapted to the lack of Wi-Fi and cell phones

Wi-Fi and cell phones are prohibited in the small town

“The residents of this small Appalachian town are disconnected in most modern ways, but over time I observed a deeper bond they shared, bonded by the pursuit of scientific knowledge.”

She says that during the making of the film she learned to rely less on her mobile phone – and that she now experiences boredom as ‘me time’.

The telescopes are located in a six kilometer long valley, surrounded by mountains over 1300 meters high, which form a natural barrier and keep out the ‘noise’ of the world.

Operating electrical equipment that causes interference with the telescopes is illegal and punishable by a state fine of usually about $50 per violation.

The area near the telescope (including the town of Green Bank, population 250) is the most heavily regulated area of ​​the Pacific Zone.

Stores cover their exteriors with conductive lead paint to allow them to use wireless inventory scanners.

Founded in 1956, the Green Bank Observatory telescopes pioneered the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).

Dr. Frank Drake, the founder of SETI, first began looking for aliens with the Green Bank telescope

In 1959, the Observatory’s ‘Ozma’ project began looking for radio emissions ‘created by intelligent beings on other planets’.

There are other ‘quiet zones’ on radio around the world, but Green Bank is a living community of 250 people – locals call themselves ‘mountain people’, while outsiders are ‘flatlanders’ or ‘come-heres’.

Getting to Walmart is a 100-mile round trip over some of the area’s highest peaks.

Within the broader Quiet Zone (an 8,000-square-mile area surrounding Green Bank), some electronics are tolerated, but within Green Bank itself, Wi-Fi and cell phones are banned, and air conditioning units and microwaves must be shielded.

One employee’s Tesla had to have its autonomous driving disabled, and a plan to install automatic toilet flushers was banned by local authorities.

A local enforcer looks for households that violate the rules

The Sugar Grove site near Green Bank

Initially imposed by local man Wesley Sizemore, the job of enforcing the ‘silence’ now falls to various employees – with Sizemore having previously dealt with problem items such as faulty electric blankets, often offering free repairs or replacements.

But there is a secret in the Silent Zone – and rumors of other, even more deeply buried secrets abound.

In a nearby mountain valley, the US military planned to build its own radio antenna – a dish 600 feet wide and 66 stories high, built to listen for Soviet radio signals bouncing off the moon.

Work on the original project ceased in 1962, but the Sugar Grove site reopened in 1969 as a global hub for naval radio communications.

Stephen Kurczy, author of The Quiet Zone, told DailyMail.com: ‘The public reason for the 13,000-square-mile National Radio Quiet Zone around Green Bank is that this city is home to the country’s very first federal radio astronomy observatory.

‘But there is also a less public reason for a Quiet Zone, which I was surprised to hear about.

“Not far from Green Bank, in the West Virginia town of Sugar Grove, is a top-secret National Security Agency (NSA) listening post with its own collection of about a dozen radio antennas.”

Kurczy believes the hub is being used to actively monitor millions of private phone calls and emails.

“The Quiet Zone protects both Green Bank and Sugar Grove. Just as Green Bank needs radio silence to allow its telescopes to ‘hear’ sounds deep in space, Sugar Grove also needs silence to listen in on communications from the outside world,” Kurczy said.

Local rumors suggest that there is a secret network of nuclear bunkers beneath the telescope.

Kurczy with son Manny in the quiet zone (Image: Stephen Kurczy)

The Quiet Zone also houses the once-secret Greenbrier bunker, built to house Congress in the event of nuclear war.

Locals talk about rumors of something ‘buried in the mountain’ – ranging from missile silos to CIA sites to captured aliens.

Kurczy said: ‘In the 1970s, hippies and back-to-the-landers also ‘discovered’ the area, and hundreds of them flocked in.

‘Among them was the hippie clown doctor Patch Adams (he’s a qualified doctor who literally dresses like a clown all the time), who was played by Robin Williams in the blockbuster ‘Patch Adams.’

“Adams’ organization still exists today, alongside many of the hippies who made this area their home.

Seedier groups were also attracted to the remote, isolated, mountainous and largely untouched environment where large tracts of land could still be found cheaply.

One of these was an anti-capitalist sex cult known as the Zendik Arts Farm. Another was a notorious white supremacist group called the National Alliance.”

But in recent decades the area has become a haven for people who think they are affected by electromagnetic radiation, Kurczy said.

Sue Howard lives in the area due to her debilitating symptoms

In Dellamaggiore’s film she interviews the ‘electro-sensitive’ Sue Howard, a 56-year-old woman.

Dellamaggiore said: ‘After enduring years of undiagnosed pain, headaches and heart palpitations, she began to notice a connection between her symptoms and the wireless technology in her home.

‘Sue suffers from Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS), a syndrome that, despite the lack of sufficient scientific data to be recognized by the medical community, causes enough pain for Sue to spend most of her time isolated in an anti-radio frequency shielded room.

‘She almost gave up hope when she read about Green Bank and the other electrosensitive people who moved there.

‘Ironically, Green Bank’s hi-tech telescope offers Sue the opportunity to escape modern technology and discover a new way to feel in community with her neighbours.’

But the peace and serenity of the Green Bank may be threatened, as locals demand access to more technology, while outside “electrosensitives” strive to limit it.

Kurczy said: ‘The people with EHS say they are harmed by WiFi, microwaves, lighting, smartphones… the latest technology. But many locals would like some more modern technology.

‘Should the Quiet Zone become less quiet because of modern conveniences? Or should it remain super quiet for the sake of electrosensitives and astronomers?

‘That tension has sometimes turned into hostilities. One electrosensitive once found a dead groundhog in her mailbox, a not-so-subtle signal that she was rubbing the locals the wrong way.”

Dellamaggiore said that in the eight years it took to make the film, it has become increasingly difficult to enforce the rules, especially around WiFi in homes.

She said: ‘While I understand the desire for access to everyday technology, it is disheartening to think that one of the last intentional quiet zones will soon become a thing of the past. We must strive to preserve this unique place on earth.”