Fort Knox Is So Mysterious And Heavily Guarded, Only One US President Has Ever Been Inside

Because there remains so little information about the contents of the gold vault, a lot of theories crop up regarding what's really inside Fort Knox. Many conspiracy theorists - like the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee (GATA) - believe the gold doesn't really exist, there isn't as much as the government claims, or the government has sold it off for years. Others claim the gold is actually just tungsten bricks painted to look like the precious metal. But theories exist regarding other possible contents of the vault - like the body of Jimmy Hoffa. Of course, strange things have been stored in the vault, like morphine and opium during the early '90s.

In August 2017, US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin visited the gold vault at Fort Knox and, along with a few other politicians, surveyed the site. Kentucky congressman Brett Guthrie also made the trip, and issued the following statement: It was an honor to join Secretary Mnuchin, Governor Bevin, and Senator McConnell to visit the depository yesterday - the first time visitors have been allowed at the facility since members of Congress inspected the depository in 1974... I am glad to report that everything at the depository looked to be secure and in order. The last Congressional visit prior to this occurred in 1974. To date, only one US president has been inside the vault - Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who served as president when the US Bullion Depository within Fort Knox was established.

Despite continued inquiries, the US Mint refuses to offer up proof of the exact amount of gold held at Fort Knox. Few people have ever entered the vault, and while 147.3 million ounces of gold allegedly exists inside, the accuracy remains in doubt. In 2008, presidential candidate Ron Paul unsuccessfully called for an audit of the US Federal Reserve and Fort Knox, but his skepticism echoed that of other conspiracy theorists.

To access the gold vault at Fort Knox, you'd need to make your way through a network of security measures. Fort Knox sits on over 100,000 acres and houses 30,000 military personnel. On the way to the vault, a literal mine field and an electric fence protect the gold. The facility also features video cameras, motion detectors, and secret microphones, all set to pick up the presence of anyone or anything that doesn't belong. Plus, US Mint Police remain a constant presence, and preside over the grounds from four machine gun towers placed around the perimeter.

The gold vault at Fort Knox is "encased in 16,000 cubic feet of granite and 4,200 cubic yards of cement." The door weighs 22 tons and is 21 inches thick, and the roof is bomb proof. The vault can withstand guns, blowtorches, and other incendiary devices.

In 1953, the US Treasury Department audited Fort Knox, but only around 5% of the gold underwent testing for purity. No outside experts were allowed on the site for the audit, either, providing fodder for all kinds of conspiracy theorists.

The US Mint chooses the guards who make up the US Mint Police and guard Fort Knox. US Mint Police officers undergo extensive training in "weapons handling, movements, danger areas, cover management, contact and cover, 360-degree security, cornering, door entry, room clearing, and breaching." Military troops from around the country train at Fort Knox, and until 2010, every member of the Mechanized Cavalry spent time at the site.

During World War II, original versions of the Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, and Constitution were moved to the gold vault for safekeeping, due to fear of the nation's capital being attacked. All three documents went back to Washington, DC, in 1944, once officials ruled out an attack on American soil.

The amount of gold held at Fort Knox might not even matter. The US went off the gold standard in 1971, meaning gold no longer specifically relates to the value of the American dollar. With this move, the gold at Fort Knox remains part of the US's overall monetary wealth, but mostly as a Treasury Department commodity - something the department can trade with other countries. Why keep it then? According to former Federal Reserve chairperson Alan Greenspan, "just in case we need it."

Construction of the US Bullion Depository began in 1935, and in 1937, the gold vault started receiving its first shipments of the national reserves. Because gold weighed so much, the Post Office Department - the predecessor of the modern US Postal Service - used trains to transport it. Gold was "shipped in on a special nine-car train manned by machine gunners and loaded onto Army trucks protected by a US Cavalry brigade."

In 1941, part of the US campaign against Hitler and the Nazis included playing up democracy and the strength of the US. The Fort Knox vault and gold served as symbols of said strength. Journalist Taylor Edmond proposed using the gold to "encourage" foreign politicians in their support of the US. During the Cold War in the 1950s, the CIA undertook Operation Mockingbird to control and disseminate information on their activities, including about Fort Knox. Ironically, the existence of Operation Mockingbird feeds into skepticism and conspiracy theories about the gold at Fort Knox.

The first fortifications at the future location of Fort Knox were established during the Civil War. Located in Kentucky, the site served as a military outpost from the late 19th century until the first World War. In 1918, the government set up an artillery training facility on 40,000 acres of land in Kentucky and named it Camp Henry Knox, after the first Secretary of War. After World War I ended, the number of troops at the camp was reduced, with part of the land briefly becoming a national forest. In 1931, Camp Knox became permanent home to the Mechanized Cavalry, and in 1932, the name changed to Fort Knox.