On 15 March 1942, the War Department acquired from the Santa Fe Railroad a leasehold interest (Lease No. W-868-ENG-1718) in a 68,000 sq. ft. warehouse located in Hanford, Kings County, California for and on behalf of the Chemical Warfare Procurement Service of the U. S. Army. The site was bounded by South William Street to the west, Fifth Street to the north, South Thornton Street to the east, and Fourth Street to the south.
The Hanford CWS Warehouse was stocked with materials from the Utah Chemical Warfare Depot for use by the San Francisco Chemical Warfare Procurement District and the Ninth Army Service Forces Command. Only one document was located which partially indicated what was stored in the warehouse. This correspondence dated 19 September 1942 listed as inclosure stock record cards for facepiece makers and copper hardware. It is thought that both of these items were associated with gas masks maintenance, Another document stated that the warehouse stored 500,000 pounds of activated charcoal.
The warehouse was manned by an Assistant Industrial Engineer (warehouse representative), a Junior Clerk Stenographer, a laborer, and three guards, Upon disposal, provisions were made by the San Francisco Chemical Procurement District to ship all surplus materials at the Hanford CWS Warehouse to other storage areas,
On 18 March 1946, the Hanford Warehouse was declared surplus and the lease was terminated 5 April 1946. The land was further sold to the Beacon Oil Company, and was then divided and sold. Records indicate that only non-lethal materials were stored at the site, and no further investigation into ordinance and explosive waste at the site is recommended."
Additional Data:
Wikimapia: http://wikimapia.org/5111325/Hanford-Chemical-Warfare-Service-Warehouse-site
Source: US Army Corps of Engineers