National Register Listing

Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory

Central Ave., Los Alamos, NM
Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory was founded on January 1, 1943, on the Parajito Plateau in the Jemez Mountains northwest of Santa Fe to develop an instrument of war, the nuclear fission bomb. Successful in that task, LASL undertook a second assignment—the creation of a "super" weapon deriving energy from the thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen. This mission, too, was successful. Since that time the Laboratory has continued to be the nation's foremost development center for nuclear weapons. More than 90% of the fission and fusion warheads now in American stockpiles are LASL devices. The other half of LASL's history—the nonmilitary half—is equally impressive. Ever since 1943, the Laboratory has been making contributions to fundamental scientific knowledge and peaceful applications of atomic energy. The world's first enriched-uranium reactor was designed and built at Los Alamos, where it has been in operation since 1944. The world's first plutonium-fueled reactor went into operation at Los Alamos in 1946. This was also the world's first fast-neutron reactor. In more recent years the Laboratory has developed a reactor using uranium phosphate fuel and another using molten plutonium, both for the first time anywhere. Several rocket propulsion reactors have been built and ground tested, with flight tests scheduled in the next few years. The Laboratory continues to be a leader in many other peaceful fields, including chemistry and metallurgy, biology and medicine, thermionic electricity, plasma physics, instrument development, and electronic computing.
History
The remote area selected in 1942 for the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, as it was to become known, was the Los Alamos (The Poplars) Mesa of the Parjarito (Little Bird) Plateau, a 7,300-foot-high, pine-forested shelf of the Jemez Mountains 35 miles northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The mesa, aside from a few isolated ranches and homesteads nearby, was occupied only by the Los Alamos Ranch School for Boys. Here, in some 50 log buildings, the Ranch School since 1918 had conducted for 40 to 50 boys a secondary and preparatory school with ranching, camping, riding, and other outdoor recreations. Behind the selection of this remote area for scientific research there had swiftly developed a series of events of worldwide importance.
Local significance of the district:
Science; Invention

Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1966.

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.

New Mexico is known for its rich cultural heritage and vibrant arts scene. The state hosts many festivals and events celebrating music, dance, and the arts, including the Santa Fe Opera and the Taos Pueblo Powwow.
New Mexico random facts
Los Alamos County is located in the northern part of New Mexico and is known primarily for being the site of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The history of Los Alamos County dates back thousands of years to the native Pueblo people who inhabited the area. The Pueblo people built settlements and farmed the land until the Spanish arrived in the 16th century. The Spanish established several missions, but these were abandoned by the late 17th century due to conflict with neighboring Native American tribes.

In the late 19th century, the region saw an influx of Anglo settlers and became a popular destination for ranching and mining. In 1917, the Los Alamos Ranch School was established as an educational institution for boys. The school brought prominence to the region and attracted families from across the country.

The turning point in the history of Los Alamos County came in 1942, during World War II, when the U.S. government selected the area to be the site of the top-secret Manhattan Project. The Los Alamos National Laboratory was built to develop the atomic bomb, and thousands of scientists, engineers, and other personnel were brought to the region. The development and testing of the atomic bomb had a profound impact on the community, forever shaping the legacy of Los Alamos County.

After the war, Los Alamos National Laboratory continued to be a major research and development center, attracting scientists from around the world. Today, Los Alamos County is known for its scientific research, high-tech industry, and natural beauty. It remains a tight-knit community with a unique and complex history that is deeply intertwined with the atomic age.

This timeline provides a concise overview of the key events in the history of Los Alamos County, New Mexico.

  • 1942 - Los Alamos County is established as part of the Manhattan Project.
  • 1943 - Los Alamos Ranch School is taken over by the US Army to accommodate the Manhattan Project.
  • 1945 - The first atomic bomb, nicknamed "Little Boy," is tested at the Trinity Site near Los Alamos.
  • 1947 - Los Alamos County becomes an official county in the state of New Mexico.
  • 1956 - Los Alamos National Laboratory is officially designated as a government-owned, contractor-operated facility.
  • 1970 - The population of Los Alamos County reaches its peak with over 19,000 residents.
  • 2000 - Cerro Grande Fire devastates Los Alamos, destroying hundreds of homes and over 48,000 acres of land.
  • 2010 - Los Alamos County celebrates its 100th anniversary since its establishment.