30 DAYS OF NEW LIFE: RICHLAND Alphabet Houses Address Links White Bluffs and Hanford sky view of abandonded towns About To house all the construction workers and families, Camp Hanford (population 51.000) was built near the construction site (for some fast facts see below). The landscape was arid and dry. The vegetation was mainly sagebrush and trees were few and far between. When the wind blew there was sand and dust all around. Housing came in a variety of forms. There were 3,600 trailer sites for families. There were 25,000 male workers housed in 131 men’s barracks and 10,000 men in 880 hutments. The 4,350 female workers were housed in 64 women’s barracks. The men’s and women’s camps had fences around them. They also built eight mess halls, each about the size of a football field, that served meals 24 hours a day, a movie house for entertainment and a baseball field complete with bleachers. Laundry and the bath houses were built to support the community. The laundry houses became gathering spots and a hub for local news. A trailer park was established for families. Roofs were built for trailers to park under to help keep them cool. This was the worlds largest trailer court. Many workers came out in advance of their families and have them join them later. FYI there is a trailer on exhibit at the CREHST Museum, 95 Lee Blvd. Camp Hanford was only temporary housing, existing for just under 2 years. The government need to build permanent residences for the employees...and quickly. The solution, Alphabet houses. G. Albin Pherson was hired to design the houses. He studied the area’s environment, noting the heat and winds, and the already existing houses. Nineteen house designs were drawn up and a letter of the alphabet was assigned to each one. Hanford Engineer Works Village was a secret wartime project, information was restricted to a need to know bases. This was taken into consideration when forming neighborhoods and assigning houses. Neighborhoods were designed to keep occupations grouped together. The house’s were assigned by the size of the family and type of work the employee did. Thus the managers neighborhood was nicknamed the Gold Coast. This helped to minimize the temptation to exchange job related information. To get a house you simply applied. Then you’d check the housing list to see which house plan you’d been assigned. Patience was a virtue as it took time to build the houses and the lists were long. The neighborhoods then did not have the beautifully tree lined streets that exist now. There was just a house sitting on a piece of land. The government rented and maintained the houses. If there was work that needed to be done you called someone to come and do it for you. The monthly rent ranged from A-6 for $25 to A for $36.50 to Y for $52.50 to S for $85.00. This included all services except the phone bill. A grand total of 5,195 houses/units were built. The vast majority being erected between 1943- 1949. Along with houses, they constructed apartments and men’s and women’s dormitories for singles. On February 2, 1945 Camp Hanford was closed down and the last occupants moved to Richland. When the government gave Richland back to the people, they had an option to buy the house they were living in or move. If it was a duplex, the senior occupant had the opportunity to make the first offer. To view a B house go to 505-507 Gillespie St. This was the most commonly built house, 1,040 homes. The duplex consisted of two bedrooms, living room, dining, one bathroom and a partial basement per side. The rent was $33.50 per month. An A house is located at 517-519 Barth. It was the second most commonly built house, 816 homes. It was a 2-story duplex with each side having 3 bedrooms. The rent was $37.50 a month including all utilities. In 1957 when the government started selling the housed for private ownership it was sold for $12,000 per duplex. The furnishings were for sale also. Some of the prices were: Dining room table $4.39, KDX rocker $6.75, bookcase $2.47, JAX mirror $1.39, pillow 42 cents and a double bed and mattress $8.16. The two most expensive items were the 7x9 rug and pad for $10.10 and a KLA daveno for $15.00. Comments It is surprising driving through town and then realize just how quickly it came in to existence. Some are worn down while other remain well maintained. You can see the natural desire for someone to make their house a home with the different changes that have been made to them. Cartographer Z Observations Cartographer L Of the three cities Richland (Kennewick and Pasco being the other two) developed the reputation for being a snooty town. Since it was government owned all the maintenance was taken care of for you. The neighborhoods they said were immaculate, but once the houses were sold to the public their upkeep became inconsistent. Some neighborhoods became run down while others worked to maintain them. Richland is still trying to live down the reputation. It is interesting to drive around the neighborhoods and see how the owners have personalized the homes. They’ve torn down walls, removed extra entrances, added decks, second stories, and awnings. It is interesting how each house has taken on it’s own personality. The most striking difference is the landscape. Where once was desert, sagebrush and sand, there are now tree lined streets, shrubs and lawns. When the wind blows, which is often, you’re not automatically surrounded by dust. However, we still get dust storms. The boom of the town and what was accomplished in such a short amount of time is staggering. Security was paramount. The local employee newspaper, The Sage Sentinel, stated in its title, “Published weekly by and for employees of Hanford Engineer Works by HEW Employees Association. Not to be mailed or taken from the area.” The community knew workers were forbidden to talk about their jobs. There were people whose job it was to mingle around hang outs and keep their ears open for people talking. If they heard someone discussing things they weren’t suppose to be discussing, they’d lose their job the next day. The community knew they were doing something important for the war effort but nobody really knew what it was. Workers got just the information they needed to do their job and nothing more. Only an elite few knew the purpose of the project. As one local explained, “It was for the good of the country.” No one knew what they were working on until the Atom Bomb was dropped. It was when the paper reported the news that they discovered what their role was in it. A few fast facts about Camp Hanford: Cartographer Z Images
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