Los Alamos Ranch School

Los Alamos Ranch School was a private ranch school for boys in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, USA, near San Ildefonso Pueblo, in what eventually became Los Alamos. It was founded by a Detroit businessman Ashley Pond II, father of Peggy Pond Church, the New Mexican poet and author.

The school, established in 1917, offered a program modeled after the Boy Scouts of America, combining a college preparatory curriculum with a rigorous outdoor life. All students were organized into patrols of Troop 22 and wore Scout uniforms & neckerchiefs. Obtaining First Class Rank in the Boy Scouts was a requirement for graduation. Over its 25-year existence, the School remained small, with enrollment never exceeding 46 boys (aged 12 to 16 years), but its graduates were an impressive group. Famous alumni included William S. Burroughs, Gore Vidal,Arthur Wood (president of Sears Roebuck) and the founder of the Santa Fe Opera, John Crosby.Bill Veeck, owner of the Chicago White Sox, also attended but did not graduate.

In November 1942, the school and the surrounding land were purchased by the United States Army's Manhattan Engineering District for use in the top-secret effort to develop the first atomic bomb. The school awarded its final diplomas in January 1943 and the Army took control of the property the following month.

The site was chosen for the Manhattan Project because of its isolation, access to water, ample space, pre-existing buildings which could be used for housing and the fact that much of the surrounding land was already owned by the federal government. It was also located on a mesa in which all entrances could be secured. The facility originally was referred to as "Site Y", but later became known as Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, then Los Alamos National Laboratory. During World War II, the school's Fuller Lodge and the Big House were used as social gathering places for Los Alamos project personnel and some other buildings were used for housing. The school buildings were known as "Bathtub Row" because they were the only houses in Los Alamos with bathtubs.

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