Deep into WWII, the United States government decided to take dramatic measures to protect the country and beat the enemy axis powers. Building a large nuclear weapons facility was an integral part of their plan to do so. Such an elaborate endeavor would require a vast amount of land and even larger amount of workers. Like many had done for over a century, the government looked to the West for the ideal place to begin groundbreaking work that would forever change the world, the small slice of the Columbia River in Eastern Washington along which the Hanford site was built, and the lives of tens of thousands of workers who took part in this part of the Manhattan project. Without the scientists, engineers, and laborers who took part in Hanford, Eastern Washington, the Columbia River, and the world could have been very different places.


Photo by US DOE

History of Workers at the Hanford Site

D.C. Stapp of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has written a comprehensive chapter titled the History of Workers at the Hanford Site. Browse through this chapter for an excellent look at the different people that came to remote, rural Washington to participate in the Hanford operation. From the beginning construction to the current cleanup, learn about the people behind the scenes: their lives, their living conditions, and their feelings on being part of a secretive government project.

This chapter is part of a book focused on the history of Hanford titled History of the Plutonium Production Facilities at the Hanford Site Historic District, 1943-1990. This is one of the most extensive documents available on the history of Hanford and it is currently available to view as a PDF online.