Hanford was a small agricultural community in
Benton County, Washington
Benton County is a county in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 206,873. The county seat is Prosser, and its largest city is Kennewick. The Columbia River demarcates the coun ...
, United States. It and
White Bluffs were depopulated in 1943 in order to make room for the nuclear production facility known as the
Hanford Site
The Hanford Site is a decommissioned nuclear production complex operated by the United States federal government on the Columbia River in Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington. The site has been known by many names, including SiteW a ...
. The town was located in what is now the "100F" sector of the site.
The original town, named for the judge and irrigation company president
Cornelius H. Hanford
Cornelius Holgate Hanford (April 21, 1849 – March 2, 1926) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Washington and the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, and ...
,
was settled in 1907 on land bought by the local power and water utility. In 1913, the town had a spur railroad link to the transcontinental
Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway, also known as "the electric railroad". By 1925 the booming town enjoyed high agricultural demand and provided a hotel, bank, and elementary and high schools.
The
federal government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
condemned
Condemned or The Condemned may refer to:
Legal
* Persons awaiting execution
* A condemned property, or condemned building, by a local authority, usually for public health or safety reasons
* A condemned property seized by power of eminent domain
...
Hanford to make way for the Hanford Site. Residents were given a thirty-day eviction notice on March 9, 1943.
[ Most buildings were razed, with the exception of the former Hanford High School. It was used during World War II as the construction management office.
Hanford High School, albeit marred from ]SWAT
In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
practice, still stands today and can be seen from the Hanford tour bus operated by the U.S. government. Hanford is now protected as part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park
Manhattan Project National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park commemorating the Manhattan Project that is run jointly by the National Park Service and United States Department of Energy, Department of Energy. The park co ...
.
File:Pic jims service station.jpg, Service station in Hanford, 1930
File:Pic hanford highschool.jpg, Hanford High School, 1925
File:Hanford High School.jpg, Hanford High School, following its use for military training
References
External links
Hanford, WA town site
at East Benton County Historical Society
Hanford Site Environmental Report
1997
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Geography of Benton County, Washington
Ghost towns in Washington (state)
Forcibly depopulated communities in the United States
Unincorporated communities in Benton County, Washington
Unincorporated communities in Washington (state)
Populated places established in 1907
Populated places disestablished in 1943
1907 establishments in Washington (state)
1943 disestablishments in the United States