Area 51 request filed in 2005, the CIA publicly acknowledged the existence of the base for the first time, declassifying documents detailing the history and purpose of Area 51. Area 51 is located in the southern portion of Nevada in the western United States, north-northwest of Las Vegas. Situated at its center, on the southern shore of Groom Lake, is a large military airfield. The site was acquired by the United States Air Force in 1955, primarily for the flight testing of the Lockheed U-2 aircraft. The area around Area 51, including the small town of Rachel on the "Extraterrestrial Highway", is
Kickapoo State Recreation Area was located at the junction of the Middle Fork and Salt Fork Rivers. The village was home to Kennekuk, a Native American known as the "Kickapoo Prophet," who brokered many treaties between the European settlers and Native Americans. Kennekuk was a proponent of a new form of Christianity that had elements of Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. The Native Americans lived in the area which is now Kickapoo State Park until sometime during the 16th century. Europeans were drawn to what is now the Kickapoo State Recreation Area with the discovery of salt springs in 1819. Most of the immigrants to