One of the very first tasks of General Leslie Groves and the Manhattan Project in early 1943 was to locate and acquire sites in the United States where uranium and plutonium could be produced, as well as a site where the atomic bomb would be constructed. The critical requirement for a site for an atomic bomb design laboratory was enhanced security. Such a site needed to be safe from bombing by enemy aircraft and equally safe from curious citizens. General Leslie Groves ordered a search for such a site conducted throughout the western United States. Los Alamos seemed ideal. It was isolated, access to and from the site could be controlled, and the surrounding canyons could be used for tests involving high explosives. The War Department acted quickly to acquire the Los Alamos Ranch School and a considerable amount of surrounding public and private land. Because Los Alamos was the site of a school for boys, possession had to wait until the end of the academic term in February 1943.