Hanford History Project

Hanford History Project Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Hanford History Project, History Museum, 3251 Port of Benton Boulevard, Richland, WA.

The Hanford History Project (HHP) at WSU Tri-Cities was established in 2014 to foster greater understanding of the vital role the mid-Columbia region of Washington state in regional, national, and international developments between WWII and today.

Join us 5pm on Feb 13 at Café Con Arte for the opening of Eastside Temporalities!📰 Explore East Pasco’s African-American...
01/06/2026

Join us 5pm on Feb 13 at Café Con Arte for the opening of Eastside Temporalities!

📰 Explore East Pasco’s African-American history—from the 1940s through urban renewal—through art, photos, oral histories, artifacts, and more!

🗺️ Preview our East Pasco Memory Map and help shape the exhibit with your feedback.

📞 Questions or want to RSVP? Email [email protected]
Come see, share, and be part of the story.
Follow us for updates!

“Recently, I learned of the passing of Quintard Taylor whose work on African American history in the Pacific Northwest a...
09/25/2025

“Recently, I learned of the passing of Quintard Taylor whose work on African American history in the Pacific Northwest all but pioneered the field. Taylor was one of the first faculty in the WSU Black Studies program when he joined in 1971 and his work at WSU, researching the history of Black people in the Pacific Northwest, eventually became his dissertation. His work inspired "Jim Crow in the Tri-Cities" by my colleague Robert Bauman and our own volume, Echoes of Exclusion and Resistance, which, not only built on Taylor's historiography, but also used some of the interviews he conducted almost fifty years prior.

My most vivid memory of Quintard was meeting him when he chaired a panel I was on, with Robert Bauman and Tanya Bowers, at the 2018 WHA in San Antonio. I had just finished many of the "Documenting African American Segregation, Migration, and Civil Rights at Manhattan Project National Historical Park" interviews that focused on the Black histories of Hanford and East Pasco. Quintard had asked to chair our panel on Black history in the Tri-Cities, a real honor. We had horrible technical difficulties getting everything set up, and Quintard distracted the audience by telling them stories of when he and other black faculty in Pullman would load up in a car and drive to East Pasco for a weekend of dining, drinking, and church (in that order he said). He described an East Pasco that was the center of Black life in Eastern Washington and we were wholly entertained by his stories.

His warmth and support for our work is just as meaningful now as it was then. We lost a legend. Rest In Peace Dr. Taylor.”

-Robert Franklin, Archivist and Historian of Hanford History Project

📸 link
https://content.libraries.wsu.edu/digital/collection/powwows/id/10535/rec/1

For Wayback Wednesday, ***buzz*** back in time with the Bumblebee Rate Meter, Model 318-1. Its name comes from the black...
09/11/2025

For Wayback Wednesday, ***buzz*** back in time with the Bumblebee Rate Meter, Model 318-1. Its name comes from the black and yellow stripes around the ionization chamber, giving it a look just like a bumblebee.

In some PNNL records it’s even called the Bumblebee Cutie Pie because it shares the same shape as the original Cutie Pie but comes with an upgrade.

Pistol-shaped, lightweight, and easy to carry, the Bumblebee was a favorite in the field. While the Cutie Pie could detect Beta and Gamma radiation, the Bumblebee added Alpha detection, making it a more powerful tool for Hanford workers.

This device is essentially a modified Eberline RO-36 ionization chamber and was first introduced at Hanford in 1976. We don’t know the exact date of the one in our collection, but these meters were used on site well into the early 2000s. Old tech, yes, but it got the job done for decades.

Wayback Wednesday takes us back to the early 1990s, when a surprising movement emerged out of Seattle: artists rallying ...
09/04/2025

Wayback Wednesday takes us back to the early 1990s, when a surprising movement emerged out of Seattle: artists rallying in support of a Hanford reactor.

Sculptor James Acord sparked the “YIMBYs” (Yes In My Backyard), a group of artists who teamed up with scientists and energy advocates to push for the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF). Their performances, called Load the Reactor, blended art, science, and public dialogue around the future of nuclear energy.

Now, that story is being revisited in a new exhibit—Load the Reactor: A Study for the New Nuclear—opening Sept. 4 at WSU Tri-Cities. Featuring multimedia works by James L. Acord, Arthur S. Aubry, Warren Dykeman, Joe Feddersen, Etsuko Ichikawa, Paul Korsmo, and Jay Needham, the exhibit runs through Feb. 27, 2026.

It’s a chance to explore how art, history, and technology intersect—and how artists helped shape the conversation around Hanford and the future of energy.

📍 Opening night: Sept. 4, 5:30 p.m., WSU Tri-Cities Art Center

Catch us this Friday on KNDU!Robert Franklin will be talking about the upcoming event, “Mapping East Pasco” and you don’...
08/26/2025

Catch us this Friday on KNDU!

Robert Franklin will be talking about the upcoming event, “Mapping East Pasco” and you don’t want to miss it!

🗓 Event Date: August 30th
🕙 Time: 10:00 AM
📍 Location: Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church
👉 http://www.hanfordhistory.com/mappingeastpasco

Bring your photos, stories, and memories. We want to hear from you!

Lunch will be provided for the first 50 guests through the door!

Welcome back to school, Cougs! We're excited to see another academic year begin, especially knowing that many of our int...
08/18/2025

Welcome back to school, Cougs! We're excited to see another academic year begin, especially knowing that many of our interns and researchers are WSU Tri-Cities students.

We're wishing them and all Cougs everywhere a fantastic start to the new school year. Here's to learning, growing, and making this year count.

Go Cougs!

This Sunday, August 17th, Pastor Albert Wilkins will be celebrating his 23rd year at Morning Star Missionary Baptist Chu...
08/16/2025

This Sunday, August 17th, Pastor Albert Wilkins will be celebrating his 23rd year at Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church.

Since 1946, Morningstar has been more than just a church, it's the longest continuously operating black church in the Tri-Cities, and a cornerstone of the community.

When the congregation moved to their current home in 1956, they created a space that would become central to the civil rights movement and community empowerment throughout the region.

Join us Saturday at 3:30 to celebrate Pastor Wilkins’ tenure as Pastor of this historic institution and again on August 30th as we cohost “Mapping East Pasco” alongside Pastor Wilkins and the Morningstar community.

Three Wayback Wednesdays, three radiological detectors each with its own quirky name. Missed one? Scroll back and catch ...
08/14/2025

Three Wayback Wednesdays, three radiological detectors each with its own quirky name. Missed one? Scroll back and catch up on the stories.

Which one’s your favorite? Comment below ⬇️

Remembering East Pasco: a community mapping session. Do you remember when East Pasco was alive with corner stores, famil...
08/12/2025

Remembering East Pasco: a community mapping session. Do you remember when East Pasco was alive with corner stores, family gatherings, and the kind of close-knit community where everyone knew your name?

Whether you lived it before 1970 or grew up hearing stories, we want to hear from you.

We’re teaming up with Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church to hold a special community mapping session where we’ll piece together the East Pasco that once was. Using a large historical map from the Franklin County Historical Society and Museum, we’ll mark where homes and businesses stood, capture the stories that made them special, and trace the connections that made this community strong.

We need your memories, stories, and perspectives. Every detail matters, whether it’s something you experienced firsthand or a tale passed down through your family.

📍 Pick up a flyer for details at any of these locations:
• Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church
• Aub's Bananza Bread LLC
• New Hope Baptist Church
• Hanford History Project
• Richland Public Library
• Pasco Public Library

We’ll have professional maps and materials, a comfortable space for sharing, and lunch for everyone who participates.

📧 Questions or want to RSVP? Email [email protected]

Let’s make sure East Pasco’s history lives on, one story at a time.

From Hanford to Nagasaki: A Story That Connects Us. Yesterday marked 80 years since the atomic bomb, containing the plut...
08/10/2025

From Hanford to Nagasaki: A Story That Connects Us. Yesterday marked 80 years since the atomic bomb, containing the plutonium produced at Hanford, was dropped on Nagasaki, forever linking our two communities across the Pacific.

As we remember this defining moment in history, we also share another side of the story, one our team witnessed firsthand during Robert’s time in Japan. For decades, the bombings were often framed through the lens of military necessity and the end of World War II. But newer generations are asking deeper questions about this history: its human cost, its moral complexity, and what it means for our shared future.

The plutonium that altered the course of history was born here at Hanford. Both Hanford and Nagasaki carry this history, but each holds its own memories, perspectives, and truths that deserve to be heard and understood.

Through Robert’s photos from Japan and images from our community’s “Lights for Peace” event, hosted by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, we invite you to reflect on this shared history from multiple vantage points: the voices of survivors, the experiences of workers, the stories of families on both sides of the Pacific.

Together, they remind us that the path to a better future begins with truly understanding our shared past.

Address

3251 Port Of Benton Boulevard
Richland, WA
99354

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+15093727678

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Hanford History Project posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Museum

Send a message to Hanford History Project:

Shortcuts

Share

Category