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Tri-Cities, Washington Introduction: A series of lessons from the WWII Heritage Cities Lesson Collection

Black and white factory area. Multiple smokestacks with smoke rising and two water towers.
“Aerial view of the 100-B Area in January 1945, looking toward the northwest. This is one of the first photographs released to the public in 1945, and is perhaps the most often used photograph of 100-B,” Richland, WA.

Library of Congress.

A series of Teaching with Historic Places lessons from the World War II Heritage City Lesson Collection. Visit the World War II page for more lessons and activities.

Introduction

All three lessons, and the culminating lesson, support the development of understanding the significance of Tri-Cities, Washington as an American World War II Heritage City: its impacts to home front efforts such as its contributions to The Manhattan Project (the Hanford Site), Naval Air Station Pasco, and Big Pasco. The lessons highlight specific contributions but connect to larger themes and understandings of the U.S. home front during wartime.

The standards listed beneath the lesson links are a collection of standards covered in the lesson collection. Objectives for each lesson, materials, and resources are listed within the lesson.

The first three lessons listed can be taught individually or collectively, in any order. The final lesson is to support students in combining learning across the three lessons, and/or comparison to other World War II home front cities in a culminating activity.

Lessons (with World War II home front topics):

The Development of the Tri-Cities as a Home Front City

  • The Manhattan Project and the Hanford Site, Naval Air Station Pasco, Big Pasco, Camp Columbia, workforce migration, home front city development

Life and Work for African Americans on the Home front in Tri-Cities, Washington

  • The Manhattan Project and the Hanford Site, African American History

The Hanford Site: Workers During and After the Atomic Bomb

  • Women’s history, women in the workforce, science and technology, The Manhattan Project, post-war impacts of The Manhattan Project

Tri-Cities, WA: Comparing and Connecting World War II home fronts

This lesson series was researched and written by Sarah Nestor Lane, an educator and consultant with the Cultural Resources Office of Interpretation and Education, funded by the National Council on Public History's cooperative agreement with the National Park Service.

Part of a series of articles titled The Tri-Cities, WA, WWII Heritage City.

Next: (H)our History Lesson: The Development of the Tri-Cities as a Home Front City

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Last updated: December 28, 2023