Explore "Trinity Site" by United States Department of Energy on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
The Schmidt-McDonald ranch house is located two miles south of Ground Zero. The property encompasses about three acres and consists of the main house and assorted outbuildings. The house, surrounded by a low stone wall, was built in 1913 by Franz Schmidt, a German immigrant and homesteader. In the 1920s Schmidt sold the ranch to George McDonald and moved to Florida.
The ranch house is a one-story, 1,750 square-foot adobe (mud bricks) building. An ice house is located on the west side along with an 9'-4" deep underground cistern. A 14 by 18.5 foot stone addition, which included a modern bathroom, was added onto the north side in the 1930s. East of the house there is a large, divided concrete water storage tank and a windmill. South of the windmill are the remains of a bunkhouse, and a barn which also served as a garage. Further to the east are corrals and holding pens for livestock.