White Bluffs, WA town site

Named for the chalky white bluffs nearby, White Bluffs is one of Washington's oldest towns. In the early 1860's, the original town was established on the east bank of the Columbia River near the present day Hanford Nuclear Reservation's 100H area. One of the main reasons for the town's existence was as a ferry and riverboat landing en route to the mines in British Columbia.

On March 1, 1866, the following article on the town appeared in the Portland Oregonian [much of this article is in reference to the British Columbia gold rush]:

"A second Sacramento; We are informed that a company has been formed at the Dalles who intended putting 25 heavy freight trams on the portage from White Bluffs to Pend Oreille at once and increase the number as required. These teams will start from White Bluffs by March 10. Thus we see another very important link in the communications with Montana supplies. We have ever looked upon White Bluffs as a starting point in this great trade, and we have no doubt that, relying on the merits of the route above, will continue to prosper, and it may become in time the Sacramento of the Columbia Valley. Already a hotel and several stores have been established there. The pioneers of the town, Booth and Nevison, have already purchased a very extensive stock of goods. The town is to be properly surveyed, now that permanency is no longer a matter of doubt."

After the British Columbia gold rush, things settled down a bit. In 1888, a Northern Pacific Railroad bridge was built across the Columbia River. Growth began in earnest again, resulting in people settling on the west bank of the river as space became scarce at the original town site. In 1908, the second town site on the west bank of the river was platted. Eventually, the western side of the river became the larger of the two halves of the town.

During the first two decades of the 20th century, irrigation projects caused an economic boom in the area. In May of 1913, the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad (a.k.a. the Priest Rapids Line) to the neighboring town of Hanford was completed allowing easier shipment of agricultural products.

In 1943, the government moved in and condemned the area and bought all the property to form the Hanford Nuclear Reservation (the Hanford reservation was responsible for creating the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki). The entire town was razed except for a pump house and the First Bank of White Bluffs.

The area is off-limits to unauthorized visitors. The best way to see the town site is to take the infrequent Hanford site tours given by the government.

Research and photography by Jeremy Wells.

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