About
The Hanford History Project is a physical and online archive documenting the history of the Hanford nuclear production facilities and the surrounding community, called the Tri Cities (Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco).
Hanford's History
Once a small farming community, the area was transformed when it became the site of the Manhattan Project's plutonium production facility in the Second World War. Hanford continued to produce plutonium throughout the Cold War, contributing to the nation's national defense, even as the environmental cost built up locally. In recent years, Hanford has been the site of an extensive clean-up effort undertaken by the US Department of Energy in agreement with the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington State Department of Ecology.
The Project
Washington State University - Tri Cities hosts the Hanford History Project. Through contract with Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS) and the US Department of Energy, the Project also manages the Hanford Collection, which is the Department of Energy's own extensive collection of documents and artifacts from Hanford's history.