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

Oak Ridge – Secret City

Photographed by Tom Bosse, December 30, 2017

1. Oak Ridge – Secret City Marker

Inscription. In November 1942, Army Engineers were ordered to build a town for 13,000 people. A year later their target grew to 42,000, and the actual population reached 75,000 in September 1945 – almost three times the city’s 2005 population. Shown on no maps, and known through the war not as Oak Ridge but as Clinton Engineer Works, it was truly a “Secret City”. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill of Chicago produced an attractive design featuring neighborhood schools linked by winding streets along Black Oak Ridge. In 1943 Captain P.E. O’Meara was the first town manager, but with the population exploding that fall, the Army contracted with Turner Construction of New York to come in and manage city operations. The Roane–Anderson Company set up by Turner became the landlord, eventually renting and maintaining more the 35,000 housing units. The company also managed 17 eating places serving 40,000 meals a day, a 500-person housekeeper service, the Guest House hotel, a laundry, garbage pick-up, coal delivery, a bus service for up to 120,000 riders a day, a railroad with five locomotives, a chicken farm, and a 3,000-cattle

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farm. Roane–Anderson also brought in 200 businesses and ships for residents. Because of the war, everything was in short supply, so Roane–Anderson’s 10,000 employees had an unpopular job, but handled it very well. Their Recreational & Welfare Association, assisted by a council of 14 citizens, improved the residents’ quality of life by sponsoring 17 different sports, four recreation halls, two community centers, eight playgrounds, and, by 1945, meeting places for some 75 different clubs and societies, as well as 22 churches.

Erected by the City of Oak Ridge in June 2005 In Honor of the 75,000 Patriots from All Over America Who Lived and Worked in the Secret City from 1942 to 1949.

Erected 2005 by City of Oak Ridge.

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

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

Photographed by Tom Bosse, December 30, 2017

2. Oak Ridge – Secret City Marker

Ridge Turnpike (Tennessee Route 95), on the right when traveling east. Marker located in 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, 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: 1943 (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 . . .
1. Oak Ridge, TN. (Submitted on January 6, 2018, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee.)
2. Secret City Commemorative Walk. (Submitted on January 6, 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 25, 2018. It was originally submitted on January 6, 2018, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 582 times since then and 31 times this year. Last updated on January 12, 2018, by Byron Hooks of Sandy Springs, Georgia. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on January 6, 2018, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.