Harriman in Roane County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Happy Valley

A Growing Community

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, February 14, 2026

1. Happy Valley Marker

Inscription. In May 1943, Manhattan Project administrators awarded J.A. Jones Construction Company a contract to construct the K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant. To construct the 44-acre building and support structures, a large on-site construction force was needed to lessen travel time for the thousands of workers. By June 1943, construction began on a housing camp in Happy Valley, 10 miles southwest of Oak Ridge. This "mini-community" started as 450 hutments and several cafeteras, but as construction progressed so did the workforce housing demands.

An assortment of 900 trailers, multiple dormitories, army barracks, and Victory Houses developed along the turnpike. With a larger workforce, support infrastructure soon followed including a school, shopping center, recreation center, theater, and bowling alley. Eventually Happy Valley housed nearly 15,000 people by 1945. Whereas white workers had multiple housing options and community amenities, there was a segregated construction camp of hutments for African American workers which operated under ever-present Jim Crow laws.

[Caption]:
Motorists fueling up while discussing the day’s new at Happy Valley Service Station, 1940

Erected by Manhattan

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Project National Historical Park, National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • War, World II. A significant historical month for this entry is May 1943.

Location. 35° 55.395′ N, 84° 23.486′ W. Marker is in Harriman, Tennessee, in Roane County. It can be reached from Tennessee 58 north of Perimeter Road, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2013 TN-58, Kingston TN 37763, 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

Happy Valley Marker (marker on left) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, February 14, 2026

2. Happy Valley Marker (marker on left)

as the crow flies: The Wheat Colony (here, next to this marker); K-25 Plant (a few steps from this marker); To Have a Job (a few steps from this marker); S-50 Thermal Diffusion Plant (within shouting distance of this marker); Building K-1000 (approx. 0.3 miles away); Wheat Community (approx. 0.4 miles away); BNFL, Inc. (approx. 0.6 miles away); Poplar Creek Seminary (approx. 1.4 miles away).

Credits. This page was last revised on February 21, 2026. It was originally submitted on February 16, 2026, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 42 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on February 16, 2026, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.