The illumination of the Obelisk that marks Ground Zero.

On July 16, 2025, White Sands Missile Range will commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the Trinity Site test, marking a new era in scientific achievement.

It was here 80 years ago today that history was made - and a modern era began. It was the test that forever changed the world and the course of human history.

The test took place at the Trinity Site on July 16, 1945, at 5:29 a.m. Mountain War Time. The test was originally scheduled for 4 a.m. but was delayed due to thunderstorm activity in the area. This test not only led to the end of the war in the Pacific but also ushered the world into the atomic age.

The Trinity Test was the first of its kind in human history. It was the culmination of work by hundreds of Americans and allied scientists working at sites across the country. Named the Manhattan Project and led by Maj. Gen. Leslie R. Groves and Doctor J. Robert Oppenheimer, this was a scientific and engineering effort on a scale never seen before. The project’s headquarters was at Los Alamos, N.M., but had other facilities to include Oak Ridge, Tenn., and Hanford, Wash.

After a nationwide search, the location that became the Trinity Site proved ideal. It was scarcely populated desert terrain, already under government control with close proximity to Los Alamos, a mere four-hour drive to the north.

In addition to ground zero, the nearby Schmidt-McDonald ranch house is also of historic importance. The house was built in 1913 by German immigrant Franz Schmidt, with the McDonald family taking ownership in the 1920s. The U.S. Army restored it to its 1945 appearance in 1984.

Taken over by the government in 1942 for inclusion in the Alamogordo Bombing Range, the ranch house was used to assemble the plutonium core prior to transport to the Trinity Site where it was placed within the device and lifted to the top of the 102-foot tower. Within the ranch house, furniture was removed and work benches and tables installed with the windows covered with plastic to keep dust and sand out of the instruments and tools. Crude and cringe-worthy by today’s standards, it was merely the creative means of getting the job done.

The 51,500-acre Trinity Site area was declared a national historic landmark in 1975. The landmark includes base camp, where the scientists and support group lived; ground zero, site of the tower; and the Schmidt/McDonald ranch house.

Today we are looking back at our beginning 80 years ago and are awed by those remarkable times, early technologies and the talents of those who created the test that ended a war and changed the world.

While Oppenheimer is the most famous name associated with the Manhattan Project, it took a diverse group of people with a variety of skillsets to take the project from conception to reality. Their spirit and dedication set the standard for the dedicated professionals who still gather in this remote New Mexico desert to test technology and advance the security of our nation. These professionals include physicists and engineers; technicians and scientists; leaders, managers, and administrators; safety experts, meteorologists, instrumentation operators and data collectors; logisticians, road guards, carpenters, and machinists; medical providers, communication experts, photographers, and control center personnel; members of the military, and civil servants, just to name a few. All doing their part into the early hours to late at night to evaluate the latest technology. Truly testing the future and changing the world!

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This article is part of a series that will delve into the history of the Trinity Site Test, which marked its 80-year milestone on July 16, 2025 and the commemoration of the growth and evolution of White Sands Missile Range, which marked its 80th anniversary on July 9, 2025. An observance of both significant anniversaries will take place in October.