Satsop, WA

Satsop is a Grays Harbor County census-designated place on the Satsop River, with U.S. Route 12 along its southern edge. Its most recognizable landmark is the unfinished Satsop Nuclear Power Plant: construction of two reactors began in 1977 and stopped in 1983, leaving large concrete structures that were never commissioned. The site is now part of Satsop Business Park, where former plant buildings have been adapted for industrial and manufacturing use.

The river and highway keep the community connected to Aberdeen and the inland route toward Grand Mound, while the Satsop Business Park gives this small place an industrial scale far beyond its population. The Port of Grays Harbor’s history materials describe the park as a working business site and preserve the story of the unfinished plant through tours and videos. The cooling towers remain visible from public roads around the park. Satsop is a river community with a very Pacific Northwest landmark: a nuclear project that became an industrial reuse site.