The McDonald Ranch House in the

Oscura Mountains Oscura Mountains, originally known to the Spanish as the ''Sierra Oscura'', are a ridge of mountains, trending north and south, east of the Jornada del Muerto and west of the Tularosa Valley. It is located in Socorro County and Lincoln County, Ne ...

Socorro County, New Mexico Socorro County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,866. The county seat is Socorro. The county was formed in 1852 as one of the original nine counties of New Mexico Territory. Socorro w ...

, was the location of assembly of the world's first nuclear weapon. The active components of the

Trinity test Trinity was the code name of the first detonation of a nuclear weapon. It was conducted by the United States Army at 5:29 a.m. on July 16, 1945, as part of the Manhattan Project. The test was conducted in the Jornada del Muerto desert abo ...

"gadget", a

plutonium Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exh ...

Fat Man "Fat Man" (also known as Mark III) is the codename for the type of nuclear bomb the United States detonated over the Japanese city of Nagasaki on 9 August 1945. It was the second of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in warfare, the fir ...

-type bomb similar to that later dropped on

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

, Japan, were assembled there on July 13, 1945. The completed bomb was winched up the test tower the following day and detonated on July 16, 1945, as the Trinity nuclear test. The McDonald Ranch House was built in 1913 by Franz Schmidt, a German immigrant, and acquired by the McDonald family in the 1930s. The ranch was vacated by the McDonald family under protest in 1942, when the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

took over the land as part of the

Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range Alamogordo () is the seat of Otero County, New Mexico, United States. A city in the Tularosa Basin of the Chihuahuan Desert, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains and to the west by Holloman Air Force Base. The population ...

to use in training bomber crews during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The family hoped that the ranch would be returned after the war, but it was not, and in 1970, the Army announced that it would be kept permanently. The McDonald Ranch House was empty and deteriorating until 1982, when it was stabilized by the Army. In 1984 it was restored by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...

to appear as it did on July 12, 1945. The site is now open to visitors twice a year, on the first Saturday in April and the third Saturday in October.

Early history

The George McDonald Ranch House sits within an low stone wall. The house was built in 1913 by Franz Schmidt, a German immigrant, whose old house a mile away burned down in 1912. An addition was constructed on the north side by the McDonald family, who had moved into the area in the late 1870s or early 1880s, and acquired the ranch house in the 1930s. The ranch house is a one-story, building. It is built of

adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for '' mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of ...

, which was plastered and painted. An ice house is located on the west side, along with an underground cistern which stored rain water running off the roof. At one time, the north addition contained a toilet and bathtub, which drained into a septic tank northwest of the house. There is a large, divided water storage tank and a Chicago Aermotor windmill east of the house. The scientists and support people used the north tank as a swimming pool during the summer of 1945. South of the windmill are the remains of a bunkhouse and a barn which was part garage. Further to the east are corrals and holding pens. The buildings and fixtures east of the house have been stabilized to prevent further deterioration. The ranch was vacated by the McDonald family under protest in 1942, when the

took over the land to use in training bomber crews during

. Area lands were condemned and ranchers simply told to leave. The occupants were given the option of going to court or accepting a settlement, but had to leave in either case. The McDonalds chose to go to court, and were awarded about $60,000 for their

patented land A land patent is a form of letters patent assigning official ownership of a particular tract of land that has gone through various legally-prescribed processes like surveying and documentation, followed by the letter's signing, sealing, and publi ...

Manhattan Project

The house stood empty until the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...

support personnel arrived in early 1945. The northeast room (the master bedroom) was designated the assembly room. Workbenches and tables were installed. To keep dust and sand out of instruments and tools, the windows were covered with plastic. Tape was used to fasten the edges of the plastic and to seal doors and cracks in the walls. The

hemispheres for the pit of the Trinity nuclear test "gadget" (bomb) were delivered to the McDonald Ranch House on July 11, 1945.

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...

Thomas F. Farrell, the deputy director of the Manhattan Project, signed for them, and handed them over to Louis Slotin, the head of the Pit Assembly Team. The active components of the bomb were assembled in the assembly room on July 13, 1945, The bomb was winched up the test tower the following day. The

occurred on July 16, 1945. A

-type bomb was detonated, similar to the bomb later dropped on

. The explosion only away blew most of the home's windows out but did not significantly damage the structure; years of rain water intrusion through the roof were responsible for decades of subsequent deterioration. The barn roof was bowed inward by the blast and some of its roofing was blown away; it collapsed some time thereafter.

1960s–1980s

On December 21, 1965, the Trinity Site was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...

district, and and, on October 15, 1966, the McDonald House was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. The McDonalds had expected that the ranch would be returned after the war, but this did not occur. In the 1970s the Army announced that the land would not be returned. Dave McDonald and his niece, Mary McDonald, staged an armed reoccupation of the ranch in protest in 1982. The house stood empty and deteriorating until 1982.

White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is a United States Army military testing area and firing range located in the US state of New Mexico. The range was originally established as the White Sands Proving Ground on 9July 1945. White Sands National P ...

commander

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Niles J. Fulwyler, who had directed the restoration of the

White Sands V-2 Launching Site The White Sands V-2 Launching Site, also known as Launch Complex 33 and originally as Army Launch Area Number 1, is an historic rocket launch complex at White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico. It was here that the United States first ...

, ordered the structure stabilized to prevent any further damage. Shortly after, Fulwyler acquired funding from the

Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-re ...

and the Army for the

to completely restore the house to the way it appeared on July 12, 1945. Work was completed in 1984. Fulwyler buried a 25-year

time capsule A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ...

describing the restoration. It was opened during an open house on October 3, 2009. Its artifacts are now in display inside the home. On the back of a photograph of himself Fulwyler wrote: :::

Access

For many years the site was open on the first Saturday in April and October. Admission is free. There is a display on the Schmidt family in the house during each open house. In 2014, the White Sands Missile Range announced that due to budgetary constraints, the site would only be open once a year, on the first Saturday in April. In 2015, this decision was reversed, and two events were scheduled, in April and October. , the site is now open to visitors twice a year, on the first Saturday in April and the third Saturday in October.

Notes

References

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External links

White Sands Missile Range.mil: Trinity Site
* * {{Portal bar, History of Science, National Register of Historic Places, Nuclear technology, World War II Manhattan Project sites Historic house museums in New Mexico Military and war museums in New Mexico Houses in Socorro County, New Mexico White Sands Missile Range Houses completed in 1913 Historic district contributing properties in New Mexico Historic American Engineering Record in New Mexico 1913 establishments in New Mexico Museums in Socorro County, New Mexico Cold War museums in the United States Military history of New Mexico National Register of Historic Places in Socorro County, New Mexico Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico Adobe buildings and structures in New Mexico