Oak Ridge in Anderson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

1943

Photographed by Tom Bosse, December 30, 2017

1. 1943 Marker

Inscription. 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

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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.

Erected 2005 by Cappiello Real Estate and Development.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Science & Medicine • War, World II. In addition, it is included in the Tennessee - Oak Hill - Secret City Commemorative Walk series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1943.

Location. 36° 0.819′ N, 84° 15.473′ W. Marker is in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in Anderson County. It 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.

Regionally, this marker is in East Tennessee and in Greater Knoxville. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally,

Photographed by Tom Bosse, December 30, 2017

2. 1943 Marker

it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Oak Ridge – Secret City (here, next to this marker); X-10 – The Clinton Laboratories (here, next to this marker); ORINS / ORAU (here, next to this marker); 1942 (here, next to this marker); 1945 (here, next to this marker); Construction Workers (here, next to this marker); 1949 (here, next to this marker); Oak Ridge and the Manhattan Project (here, next to this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Oak Ridge.

Also see . . . Secret City Commemorative Walk. (Submitted on January 4, 2018, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee.)

Secret City Commemorative Walk image. Click for full size.

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 487 times since then and 21 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.