Oak Ridge in Anderson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
Bear Creek Checking Station
Ensuring What Goes on Here, Stays Here
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, December 29, 2024
1. Bear Creek Checking Station marker
Inscription.
Bear Creek Checking Station. Ensuring What Goes on Here, Stays Here. Known as the "Gate House", the checking station that you see before you was constructed in the post world war two years. It was operated by the United States Atomic Energy Commission, and controlled access to the Y-12 plant from 1949-1953. As the city of Oak Ridge opened to the public on March 19, 1949, access to the Y-12 plant remained restricted. Built with concrete and bullet-proof windows, these silent sentinels serve as a reminder to the heightened security conditions that existed during early Cold War years. Two other identical checking stations controlled access to the K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant (Oak Ridge Turnpike) and X-10 Graphite Reactor (Bethel Valley Road. Virtually unchanged since their time in operation, all three checking stations were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992
Known as the "Gate House", the checking station that you see before you was constructed in the post WWII years. It was operated by the United States Atomic Energy Commission, and controlled access to the Y-12 plant from 1949-1953. As the city of Oak Ridge opened to the public on March 19, 1949, access to the Y-12 plant remained restricted. Built with concrete and bullet-proof windows, these silent sentinels serve as a reminder to the heightened security
conditions that existed during early Cold War years. Two other identical checking stations controlled access to the K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant (Oak Ridge Turnpike) and X-10 Graphite Reactor (Bethel Valley Road. Virtually unchanged since their time in operation, all three checking stations were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992
Location. 35° 59.963′ N, 84° 14.57′ W. Marker is in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in Anderson County. It is at the intersection of Scarboro Road and D O E N Patrol Rd, on the right when traveling south on Scarboro Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 512 Scarboro Rd, 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 2 miles of this marker, measured
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, December 29, 2024
2. Bear Creek Checking Station marker
Credits. This page was last revised on December 30, 2024. It was originally submitted on December 29, 2024, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 188 times since then and 31 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on December 29, 2024, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.
