HANFORD HISTORY PROJECT Since time immemorial, Native Americans have relied on the Columbia River for sustenance and a way of life. A harbinger of change arrived in the winter of 1805 when the Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through the area. They were followed by fur trappers. Farmers arrived in the 1800s and 1900s, plowing and irrigating the land to grow crops and raise livestock. Then in 1943, the federal government claimed roughly 600 square miles (1554 square kilometers) along the Columbia River through eminent domain, giving some residents as little as 30 days to leave. The Manhattan Project built a plutonium production facility on that land and used river water to cool the reactors. Who were the people displaced? What was their life like before and after the Manhattan Project? |
Last updated: May 4, 2023