Colonel Franklin Matthias’s Interview (1986)
Colonel Franklin Matthias, a civil engineer, was a close associate of General Groves throughout the Manhattan Project, and was asked to review sites in the West. Matthias and two Du Pont representatives looked quickly at possible sites in Montana, Oregon, and California, as well as Washington. Matthias decided Hanford, isolated and with a good supply of water, was the best choice. Groves appointed Matthias officer-in-charge at Hanford, granting him authority over civilian operations as well as military.