A granite marker in Red Gate Woods forest preserve near Lemont warns of radioactive material from nuclear research buried there.
Fast forward 81 years, and a small parking lot in an out-of-the-way suburban forest preserve off Archer Avenue is the gateway to directly experiencing a piece of this history that forever changed the course for humanity.I went to see for myself where Fermi’s famous reactor found its end — Red Gate Woods forest preserve near Lemont.
The narrow muddy trail was rutted with the tracks of mountain bikes. Immediately mosquitoes descended from the damp woods and standing water along the trail. I cursed myself for not applying insect repellent before starting the hike, but the July heat had me hurrying to get into some shade.