Camp Columbia (Hanford) facts for kids
Camp Columbia was a special work camp that opened on February 1, 1944. It was located on the north side of the Yakima River, near Horn Rapids in Washington State. The Federal Bureau of Prisons ran this camp from 1944 to 1947.
The main purpose of Camp Columbia was to provide workers for the nearby Hanford Site. This was a very important and secret project during World War II. The camp housed men who had broken certain rules during the war. These were people who were not considered dangerous and had less than a year left on their sentences.
Some of the people at the camp were conscientious objectors. These are people who refuse to fight in wars because of their beliefs. Others had broken rules about rationing supplies or other wartime laws. Because the camp was so close to the secret Hanford Site, only American citizens were sent there.
What Was Camp Columbia Like?
Camp Columbia was about 25 acres in size. It had many buildings, including Quonset huts, which were special curved metal buildings. There were also barracks for both the workers and the staff.
The camp was built by contractors working for the Manhattan District of the Corps of Engineers. Some buildings were even moved from an old Civilian Conservation Corps camp in Montana.
The camp had five barracks for the workers, an office, a dining hall, a hospital, and a recreation hall. It also had storage and utility buildings. A central steam system provided heat. There were no fences around the camp. The natural area around it made it hard for anyone to escape.
Working at the Camp
During the time Camp Columbia was open, about 1,300 people lived and worked there. The workers came from the McNeil Island Federal Penitentiary.
They mostly worked in fruit orchards. The government had taken this land to create a safe buffer zone around the Hanford Site. The workers helped process and can over 5,600 tons of fruit. This fruit was then used by the military.
At any one time, up to 290 workers lived at Camp Columbia. About 40 guards supervised them, led by a warden named Harold E. Taylor. Workers were sometimes known to go fishing in the river. Only 12 people were known to have escaped from the camp.
Besides farming, the workers also did other jobs. In 1945, they helped tear down a large construction camp. This camp had housed nearly 50,000 workers who built the reactors at the Hanford Site.
After the Camp Closed
Camp Columbia officially closed on October 10, 1947. But the buildings were still used! They housed workers for the Hanford project's railroad and other site jobs until 1949.
Later, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers used the camp. They housed workers who were building levees for the McNary Dam.
Finally, Camp Columbia was completely abandoned in 1950. All the buildings were taken down and removed. Some of the original Quonset huts were moved to Richland. You could still see them there until the early 1990s.
Camp Columbia Today
In 1966, the federal government gave the land to Benton County. Today, the site of Camp Columbia is part of Horn Rapids County Park.
This park is a great place for a day trip. It has a campground, a boat launch for the river, a nature trail, and places for horseback riding. There's even a special sign at the park that tells the story of Camp Columbia.
