In 1942, as part of the plan to manufacture atomic bombs to drop on Japan, the U.S. Army began to seek out a suitable location to build a factory for producing plutonium, necessary for the atomic bomb which was later dropped on Hiroshima.
Then in January 1943, after a years’ search, the U.S. Army decided on the tiny Washington village of Hanford, and began purchasing or condemning 560 square miles of land for the new plutonium production plant. Within a year, the newly government-owned Hanford had become home to 50000 workers.
Why was Hanford, of all the towns in the nation, selected for this vastly important project which led to the Allied victory over Japan in World War II?