Category:White Bluffs, WA

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http://accordingtothemom.blogspot.com/2011/03/eminent-domain-at-white-bluffs.html

Eminent Domain at White Bluffs

http://accordingtothemom.blogspot.com/2011/03/eminent-domain-at-white-bluffs.html

by Mary Abramson Hinderer

When I was little, my paternal grandmother periodically mentioned White Bluffs. Grandma was always a bit sad about it. I didn't understand at the time the significance that place held for her. Nor had I any idea of the role that little town and the area surrounding it played in the history of the modern world.

I eventually came to understand that my grandparents had farmed near White Bluffs. And that they had to leave. And that leaving was not something they chose to do.

But the name White Bluffs was still a mystery to me. I only knew it made Grandma sad.

When I got a little older, I tried to find White Bluffs on a map of Washington. It did not exist.

More mystery.

At some point, probably well into adulthood, I put it all together. I had asked enough questions and done enough reading on my own to figure out the mystery. This brief history is probably still not fully accurate, but this is what I've pieced together thus far.


The town of White Bluffs had its start as a ferry site across the Columbia River. Native peoples used the site for crossing the Columbia. Later, The Hudson's Bay Company ran a trading post there. Miners on the way to the British Columbia gold rush could cross the river and stock up on supplies. By 1850, steamboats came up the Columbia from Portland bringing people and supplies to join the pack trains heading north.


By the early 1940s, the region was a rich agricultural area and the small towns were growing. The Milwaukee Road ran through White Bluffs providing residents the goods they needed and taking away the literal fruits of their labors.

According to the U.S. Government's Hanford history page

Hanford and White Bluffs epitomized the early American West. Farming and agriculture were the dominant industries in these little towns, even though the area receives just seven inches of rain a year. An early irrigation system provided water from the Columbia River to orchards and field crops, and fruit ripened more quickly here than in any other part of the Pacific Northwest. Small, family-run stores and other businesses began to open after the turn of the century, and some of the earliest automobiles could be seen on the dirt streets of the communities. A ferry docked near White Bluffs and shuttled passengers across the Columbia River. A railroad called “Sagebrush Annie” carried riders between Hanford and White Bluffs. Children attended schools in both communities and White Bluffs even had a weekly newspaper. The worst years of the depression were finally over and things were looking up.


My grandparents had a farm outside of White Bluffs. They had planted a vineyard and lovingly tended their vines. They looked forward to harvesting their first full crop of grapes.

Then came the announcement. I suppose it was a letter, but that is not clear from the history I can find. Perhaps it was just a public announcement through posters and newspapers.

The government needed the land for the war effort. Most residents had only 30 days to get off their land. Some residents were given only a couple of days to two weeks to leave.

As part of the Manhatten Project, the government needed a site well away from major cities and transportation centers, and yet near a plenteous supply of clean water. It was here in the area around the towns of Hanford and White Bluffs, that the Federal Government chose to process the plutonium needed for the nuclear program. The government used their power of eminent domain to take the land from the local people.


The area became the Hanford Engineer Works where the plutonium was processed for the first nuclear test bomb that was detonated at the Trinity site in New Mexico, and also for Fat Man, the bomb dropped over Nagasaki, Japan.

The Hanford site continued into the cold war as the primary plutonium processing facility in the United States. Currently there is one power plant still in operation there.

Because nuclear science was in its infancy during the early years at Hanford, the area has very high levels of radioactive waste. Clean-up is ongoing.

I have an uncle on my mom's side of the family who ranched and raised his family within a few miles of the borders of Hanford. Uncle Max passed away last year on my birthday. He had lived into his 90s.

Several years ago, I asked Uncle Max how he felt about the reports of the high levels of radioactive waste that were alleged to be slowly leaking into the area. Max replied that he never worried about it too much. This was his home and he farmed it the best he could and that was all he could do.

But he also said that the plutonium made in that facility probably saved his life. You see, Uncle Max was fighting in World War II with the US Navy in the South Pacific. Uncle Max had always figured, based on the rumors that were going around at the time regarding the plans for the ship he was on, that he and many others would not have come home alive were it not for the nuclear bombs.


All that remains of White Bluffs today is the bank. It looks kind of lonely, doesn't it?

Posted by Mary Abrahamson at 11:16 AM

Labels: constitution, government, history, mysteries, society

7 comments: 

theMom said...

Mary, Joe here, I'm not sure if you were in on this particular conversation with Max, but what I remember him saying is that the orders had come down for his ship and several others in the area to arrange a landing on the beaches of Japan similar to the Normandy invasion. Max said his ship and their naval group were to establish the beachhead.

They were equipping and setting off for Japan when news came of the Bomb. Then, three days later, the second bomb and Japan's surrender. The second bomb at Nagasaki was the Hanford bomb as you described.

I miss Max.

March 29, 2011 at 5:49 PM 

theMom said...

Yes, Joe, I just didn't remember the details. Thank you for adding them. March 29, 2011 at 5:54 PM

Sarah said... Mary, Through a partnership of DOE, WSU- Tri Cities and many other local groups, we have begun the Hanford History Partnership. Our first focus is to collect and record the lives and stories of those who lived in the White Bluffs/Hanford/Richland area and were evacuated in 1943.

If you would like to help, or just find out more about the history, please visit Ourhanfordhistory.org and https://www.facebook.com/OurHanfordHistory.

Thanks,

Sarah research intern

March 10, 2013 at 12:18 PM 

theMom said...

Thanks Sarah. Thanks for your research and for letting me and others know. March 10, 2013 at 4:34 PM 

Nancy (Danielson/Wheeler) Mendenhall said...

I am one of the descendents from the White Bluffs orchardists . They arrived in 1907 and were evicted in 1943 with the rest. I was very pleased to find the search going on for family histories on facebook. I don't use facebook but someone showed it to me so I filled out the questionnaire on line and sent it in.A few years ago there was hardly anything about Hanford White Blufs and now there is lots. Most of t is for hikers and other nature lovers. I was able to go there once in the early 1990s with my uncle and was about overwhelmed. He would go overy year to those pioneer reunions. Is there anything else I should do? Good for you and your group to take this on!! I wrote a book about White Bluffs settlers based on my family a few years ago and would send your group a copy if they are interested and haven't seen it. "Orchards of Eden: White Bluffs on the Columbia, 1907-1943."

May 14, 2013 at 4:31 PM 

theMom said...

@Nancy, I'll repost your comment on the "Our Hanford History", facebook page. I think the way they have the page set up, you should be able to get to it, and see any comments, even though you are not a facebook user.

Thanks for being in touch.

May 15, 2013 at 9:31 AM 

Colleen French said...

Hello, my name is Colleen French and I work for the Department of Energy in Richland. For the past several years I've had the priviledge over overseeing the engineering and construction effort to save and rebuild the White Bluffs Bank. It will be done this year (2015) and I would love to have former residents and their descendants come to take a private tour and/or be there when we open it up for the first time.

I am also leading DOE's efforts to include the White Bluffs Bank, Hanford High School, 1908 HIP Pump House, and Bruggemann Warehouse (stone building just off the highway) interpreted as part of the new Manhattan Project National Historic Park created by Congress in December 2014. It will be a joint National Park Service/Department of Energy park.

I would love to hear from any of the former residents and/or decedents who have stories to tell, as we are also collecting Oral Histories (as Sarah said through the Hanford History Project) and these stories are critical to us understanding and honoring the former residents and their many, many accomplishments!

I continue to be awe-inspired by the hard work, ingenuity, spirit, and commitment represented in the landscape.

I would also be interested in organizing a tour for former residents and their descendants.

Getting the story of this area and its people told is long overdue!

White Bluffs

http://workbasedlearning.pnnl.gov/pals/resource/cards/whitebluffs.stm

The White Bluffs townsite, named for the spectacular chalk-like cliffs near the location of the original town, was one of the first European-American settlements along the Columbia River in Washington Territory. The first ferry began operating at White Bluffs in 1860. White Bluffs landing was a well-used pathway in the late 1800s.

Who lived at White Bluffs?

Centuries before Euro-Americans arrived in the lower Columbia Basin, Native American tribes used the White Bluffs area as a river crossing and gathering place for trading and celebrations. In the late 1850s, steamboats began to run from Portland, Oregon, to White Bluffs, and it became a central point from which river shipments were transferred to pack trains that carried supplies to gold miners in British Columbia. Livestock and people also were ferried across the river. In 1860, ferry operator Thomas Howe charged ten cents to ferry sheep or swine across the river, up to $1.00 for animals carrying full packs, and $3.00 for a wagon with two animals attached. By 1863, a trading post and way station had been constructed at White Bluffs.

In the 1850s and 1860s, ranchers were attracted to the lower Columbia Basin because of its vast rangeland. At first, they raised cattle, much of which was shipped to the gold-mining districts in British Columbia. Farmers began to arrive in the 1880s, lured by promises of rich land for apples and alfalfa, and plentiful water to irrigate crops. The original White Bluffs townsite was located on the east (Franklin County) side of the Columbia River, but by the early 1890s, so many settlers had homesteaded the area, the townsite expanded to a site on the west (Benton County) side of the river. When the railroad arrived in 1913, the town moved again to a third site close to the railway.

What happened to the White Bluffs Townsite?

In 1943, the Manhattan Project–the federal government's top-secret atomic bomb project–selected a 625 square-mile area of the Mid-Columbia Basin that included White Bluffs, Hanford, and Richland to site its Hanford Engineer Works. Inhabitants of the small farming communities were sent notices to evacuate their lands and given about 30 days to pack their belongings and leave the area. The government purchased their farms and could tell residents only that their sacrifice was needed for the war effort.

What is left of the White Bluffs Townsite?

You can still visit the original site of the White Bluffs townsite if you visit the Wahluke Slope. All that remains is a log building from the 1890s that may have been a blacksmith's shop. Traders and agents of the Hudson's Bay Company traveled along the Columbia and Snake rivers beginning in 1811. Currently, outdoor enthusiasts use the old White Bluffs landing as a boat launch to fish or explore the Hanford Reach.

Today, all that is left of the two other White Bluffs settlements are foundations and streets. The government razed homesteads and orchards in the mid-1940s. Because many of these areas are located on the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford Site, they are not open to the public. However, the Department offers a bus tour of the Hanford Site that allows visitors to see a number of these landmarks. Residents of White Bluffs, Hanford, and Richland and their descendants meet in Richland every August to keep the memories of their heritage alive.


Keep in mind this fact sheet is intended to be used only as background information to support your effort to encourage inquiry-based science, which parallels the way scientists uncover knowledge and solve problems.

Graphic: Suggested Activities

1. Visit the East Benton County Historical Society in Kennewick and read about the White Bluffs and Hanford townsites.

2. Visit the original townsite of White Bluffs on the Wahluke Slope. From Othello, take Highway 24 west. Go approximately 16.8 miles to the Wahluke Washington Road. Turn left at the public fishing sign. Go 4 miles to the "Y;" stay to the right. Go another 1.8 miles to the parking area.

3. Take the U.S. Department of Energy bus tour of the Hanford Site, which includes visits to the old Hanford and White Bluffs townsites (call 509-376-0213 for information). The old Hanford townsite also was the site of the Manhattan Project's Hanford Construction Camp. As you drive past the old Hanford High School, try to imagine the businesses and houses that once lined the streets or the tents, trailer camp, or barracks where Manhattan Project workers once lived.

Put yourself in the position of one of the many residents who was asked to leave their farm or business. Create a 30-day simulated journal of your feeling about evacuation from the time your family received the government's notice to evacuate to the day you left home. Use as many facts as you can find.

Graphic: Other Resources

Family Histories for Hanford and White Bluffs, WA, Hanford Science Center, White Bluffs-Hanford Pioneer Association, Richland, Washington (available at the Columbia River Exhibition of Science and Technology).

Goodbye, White Bluffs, M.P. Harris, 1972, Franklin Press, Yakima, Washington.

Hanford Cultural Resource Management Historical Baseline, 1998. M.K. Wright (ed.), D. Bradley, C.A. Brandt, N.A. Cadoret, J.C. Chatters, K. Hull, L.R. Hale, K.A. Hoover, M. Kelly, E. Nilsson, L. Robbins, M. Stenehjem, U.S. Department of Energy, Richland, Washington.

"Old Hanford, White Bluffs Sites Mid-Columbia's Pompeii." Darby Stapp, August 8, 1999, Tri-City Herald, Tri-Cities, Washington.

Tales of Richland, White Bluffs and Hanford 1805-1943, 1986. Martha Berry Parker, Ye Galleon Press, Fairfield, Washington.

White Bluffs/Hanford Townsite (video). Parasol Group Production, 1986. Michael Floyd , Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington.

Hanford Cultural and Historic Resources Program - http://www.hanford.gov/page.cfm/INP

White Bluffs -http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/wa/whitebluffs.html

White Bluffs Townsite - http://ebchs.org/

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