Oak Ridge in Anderson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
1943
Photographed By Tom Bosse, December 30, 2017
1. 1943 Marker
Inscription.
1943. . The year opened with fierce fighting on battlefronts all over the world – Stalingrad, North Africa, the South Pacific. Here, February saw groundbreaking for Oak Ridge’s Y-12 Plant and the X-10 Graphite Reactor. Starting April 1, armed guards manned the gates to the Clinton Engineer Works. President Roosevelt froze all wages and prices to forestall “black markets”. By summer the area swarmed with 20,000 construction workers building the plants and new city, and August saw the opening of the town’s first drug store, grocery, movie theater, and post office. In the fall, enough of Y-12 and the town had been completed, so the scientists, engineers, and thousands of support people began pouring in from all over the nation. One universal complaint everyone had was the mud – even a light shower turned thinly graveled streets into a gooey mess. The town’s answer was 163 miles of boardwalks. For fun, folks went to the movies, bowled, danced in the “rec” halls, and sometimes on the tennis courts. Overseas, the Allied Forces finally defeated the Germans in North Africa, but began the invasion of Italy with heavy losses.
Erected in Honor of All Those Who Built Our Community and in Special Memory of the Vision and Legacy of A.P. Cappiello, Sr. by Cappiello Real Estate and Development, June 2005.
The year opened with fierce fighting on battlefronts all over the world – Stalingrad, North Africa, the South Pacific. Here, February saw groundbreaking for Oak Ridge’s Y-12 Plant and the X-10 Graphite Reactor. Starting April 1, armed guards manned the gates to the Clinton Engineer Works. President Roosevelt froze all wages and prices to forestall “black markets”. By summer the area swarmed with 20,000 construction workers building the plants and new city, and August saw the opening of the town’s first drug store, grocery, movie theater, and post office. In the fall, enough of Y-12 and the town had been completed, so the scientists, engineers, and thousands of support people began pouring in from all over the nation. One universal complaint everyone had was the mud – even a light shower turned thinly graveled streets into a gooey mess. The town’s answer was 163 miles of boardwalks. For fun, folks went to the movies, bowled, danced in the “rec” halls, and sometimes on the tennis courts. Overseas, the Allied Forces finally defeated the Germans in North Africa, but began the invasion of Italy with heavy losses.
Erected in Honor of All Those Who Built Our Community and in Special Memory of the Vision and Legacy of A.P. Cappiello, Sr. by Cappiello Real Estate and Development, June 2005.
Location. 36° 0.819′ N, 84° 15.473′ W. Marker is in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in Anderson County. Marker is at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike (Tennessee Route 95) and South Tulane Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Oak Ridge Turnpike. Marker is located at Alvin K. Bissell Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Oak Ridge TN 37830, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Also see . . . Secret City Commemorative Walk. (Submitted on January 4, 2018, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee.)
Photographed By Tom Bosse, December 30, 2017
2. 1943 Marker
Photographed By Tom Bosse, December 30, 2017
3. Secret City Commemorative Walk
Photographed By Tom Bosse, December 30, 2017
4. Secret City Commemorative Walk
Credits. This page was last revised on January 5, 2018. It was originally submitted on January 4, 2018, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 254 times since then and 11 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on January 4, 2018, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.