White Bluffs

Overview

A farming town displaced by the Manhattan Project

White Bluffs developed around Columbia River crossings and later irrigated agriculture. The community moved its center more than once as flooding and transport connections changed the best place to settle. Orchards, farms and local businesses supported a town beside the river.

In 1943 the federal government took the land for the Manhattan Project and ordered residents to leave. The removal broke up the community rather than simply ending a local industry. Most buildings disappeared. The concrete-block bank survives as the clearest built reminder of the former town.

Video

White Bluffs in 30 seconds

White Bluffs was a farming town on Washington’s Columbia River. Historic photographs and maps are dated on screen; current access is summarized in the guide.

History

How White Bluffs grew and changed

1. 1861An early settlement develops on the Columbia River.
2. 1890sThe community expands on the west bank.
3. 1907–1908The First National Bank building is constructed.
4. 1943Residents are displaced for the Hanford Site.
5. 1955The former bank is reused for fire-department storage.
6. 2017The Department of Energy begins historical reconstruction of the bank.

On the ground

What remains at White Bluffs

The White Bluffs Bank is the only surviving town building identified by the National Park Service. Its concrete walls outlasted the town’s removal and later neglect. The bank location and other traces lie inside controlled Hanford land; a point on a map does not grant permission to enter.

Before you go

Access and current conditions

The NPS bank page says it is not open to the public for independent visits and identifies the Department of Energy as manager. It describes guided pre-war historic-sites tours as the authorized way to explore this history. Confirm current tour availability and registration directly. No driving route to the restricted townsite is supplied here.

Reading the maps

The town in its landscape

The sheets show White Bluffs on the Columbia River, then the road and reservation landscape that replaced its farming town.

Historic maps

White Bluffs on USGS maps, 1924–1979

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the townsite. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

19241:62,50019511:62,50019651:62,50019791:100,000

Maps & access

Location and access

The NPS bank page says it is not open to the public for independent visits and identifies the Department of Energy as manager. It describes guided pre-war historic-sites tours as the authorized way to explore this history. Confirm current tour availability and registration directly. No driving route to the restricted townsite is supplied here.

Photos

White Bluffs in photos

The remains of the Hudson’s Bay Company post at White Bluffs in 1937The horse-powered Columbia River ferry at White Bluffs in 1909

Visitor reports

Been to White Bluffs?

Been there lately? Tell the next visitor what you found: whether you could get in, the state of the road and what's still standing. Photos are welcome. We read every report before it appears here.

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Nearby

Other sites near White Bluffs

Straight-line distance from the townsite to other mapped sites in our Washington index.

• Hanford7.3 mi SE · Benton
• Haven9.3 mi W · Grant
• Corfu10.4 mi N · Grant
• Taunton11.5 mi NE · Adams
• Kiona28.8 mi S · Benton
• Vantage30.9 mi NW · Kittitas
• Ainsworth37.9 mi SE · Franklin
• Servia38.8 mi NE · Adams

Sources

Sources and credits

1. White Bluffs, Washington - Wikipedia: historical chronology, identity and location; read October 25, 2026.
2. White Bluffs - Washington Ghost Town: historical fact sheet and town history; read October 25, 2026.
3. White Bluffs Bank (U.S. National Park Service): history, surviving features and visitor information; read October 25, 2026.
4. First National Bank of White Bluffs (U.S. National Park Service): history, surviving features and visitor information; read October 25, 2026.
5. Elevation at the mapped point: USGS 3D Elevation Program query, October 25, 2026. Historical topographic sheets: USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).
6. Wikimedia Commons, White bluffs HudsonBayPost.jpg: The remains of the Hudson’s Bay Company post at White Bluffs in 1937; Public domain. File description and image checked October 25, 2026.
7. Wikimedia Commons, White bluffs ferry 1909.jpg: The horse-powered Columbia River ferry at White Bluffs in 1909; Public domain. File description and image checked October 25, 2026.

Photo and map credits

• The remains of the Hudson’s Bay Company post at White Bluffs in 1937: National Park Service, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
• The horse-powered Columbia River ferry at White Bluffs in 1909: Unknown, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
• Area base map, topo and aerial imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain).
• Historic maps: USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain): Hanford 1924, 1:62,500; Hanford 1951, 1:62,500; Hanford 1965, 1:62,500; Priest Rapids 1979, 1:100,000.