"Somewhere in No-Man’s Land": Army Camp Hanford and America’s Defense Program

Summary

For four decades, Hanford reactors produced plutonium, generating the fuel for America’s first atomic bombs. In 1950, as the Arms Race increased, the Department of Defense established Anti-Aircraft Artillery sites throughout Hanford to protect the nation’s top secret nuclear facilities. Under the Army’s command, these AAA batteries, base camps and battalion headquarters were home to the men that were "the last defense." This paper will present the historical artifacts recovered from a refuse dump associated with Camp Hanford from 1950 to 1959. This collection, coupled with oral history, provides an opportunity to explore and document everyday Army life on Hanford during the Korean and Cold War Eras.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Archaeology of the American Dream: Topics in Historical Archaeology West of the Mississippi   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 555