Historical Markers and War Memorials in Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Clinton is the county seat for Anderson County
Oak Ridge is in Anderson County
Anderson County(94) ► ADJACENT TO ANDERSON COUNTY Campbell County(15) ► Knox County(240) ► Morgan County(16) ► Roane County(49) ► Scott County(5) ► Union County(8) ►
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On Oak Ridge Turnpike (Tennessee Route 95) at South Tulane Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Oak Ridge Turnpike.
The war years during the first part of the year was dreadful. German submarines were wreaking havoc with our shipping in the Atlantic; the Japanese were winning in the Pacific, and the Germans were driving across North Africa. In late May, a . . . — — Map (db m112276) HM
On Oak Ridge Turnpike (Tennessee Route 95) at South Tulane Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Oak Ridge Turnpike.
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 . . . — — Map (db m112277) HM
On Oak Ridge Turnpike (Tennessee Route 95) at South Tulane Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Oak Ridge Turnpike.
New arrivals to this fenced in area called the Clinton Engineer Works were amazed at the extensive construction at every turn – more Cemestos “alphabet” homes were going up on Black Oak Ridge, as were more “flattops” in . . . — — Map (db m112278) HM
On Oak Ridge Turnpike (Tennessee Route 95) at South Tulane Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Oak Ridge Turnpike.
The new city was crowded – all 90 dorms of singles, housing for families at a premium. In May the population peaked at 75,000. Y-12 had 22,400 workers; K-25, 11,000; X-10, 1,500. People at the plants were urged to work harder than ever at . . . — — Map (db m112548) HM
On Oak Ridge Turnpike (Tennessee Route 95) at South Tulane Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Oak Ridge Turnpike.
This was the world’s first fully peacetime year since 1938. Cities everywhere began struggling to change things back to normal; Oak Ridge was different – we had never been normal. Things here were also in a state of flux because the success of . . . — — Map (db m112280) HM
On Oak Ridge Turnpike (Tennessee Route 95) at South Tulane Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Oak Ridge Turnpike.
Although many residents still felt Oak Ridge was a wartime town, they were now encouraged to view their city as possibly becoming a permanent community. This transition was kicked off January 1 when the Manhattan Engineering District handed off . . . — — Map (db m112281) HM
On Oak Ridge Turnpike (Tennessee Route 95) at South Tulane Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Oak Ridge Turnpike.
Union Carbide agreed to manage X-10 as well as the Y-12 plant with their new defense mission, and the K-25 uranium enrichment plant. Carbide named Nelson Rucker as X-10 executive director who with Alvin Weinberg instilling a sense of stability as . . . — — Map (db m112282) HM
On Oak Ridge Turnpike (Tennessee Route 95) at South Tulane Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Oak Ridge Turnpike.
On January 20 “The Oak Ridger” published its first edition. It told the city’s stories for decades, like a favorite talk about colorful, hard-driving General Leslie Groves, Manhattan Engineering District commandant. When he had needed . . . — — Map (db m112283) HM
On Oak Ridge Turnpike (Tennessee Route 95), on the right when traveling east.
The Administration Building for the Clinton Engineering Works opened March 15, 1943. Dubbed "The Castle", it became headquarters for the Manhattan Engineering District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, from which all Manhattan Project construction was . . . — — Map (db m112099) HM
On Oak Ridge Turnpike (Tennessee Route 95) at South Tulane Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Oak Ridge Turnpike.
Starting with farmland in November 1942, 110,000 construction workers in two-and-a-half years built two huge uranium-235 production plants, Y-12 and K-25, at a cost of $759 million; X-10 and S-50, at a cost of $23 million; and the town for those who . . . — — Map (db m112348) HM
On South Tulane Avenue, on the right when traveling south.
1942 - 1992
Samuel Karl Asher •
Michael Roger Baker •
James Edward Barlow •
Jeff Thomas Barnett, Jr. •
Martin Owen Boone •
Joseph Keith Bradley •
Gerald Wayne Davidson •
Luther E. Davis •
Ronald Edward Hibbard •
David William . . . — — Map (db m112461) WM
On Oak Ridge Turnpike (U.S. 95) at Melton Lake Drive, on the right when traveling east on Oak Ridge Turnpike.
From April 1, 1943, until March 19, 1949, this was the site of Elza Gate. Elza Gate was the primary entrance to the secret community of Oak Ridge and along with six other entry points, it was manned by armed guards. Elza Gate took its name from a . . . — — Map (db m88625) HM
On Bethel Valley Road, 0.1 miles west of Melton Valley Access Road, on the right when traveling west.
Opened 1851 - Closed 1942
Church building Stood 47 feet in front of this stone
In Memory of our Dead
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be . . . — — Map (db m70485) HM
Centrally located between Jackson Square and Jefferson Center, Grove Center was one of three large commercial areas built for residents of Clinton Engineer Works in need of a place to run everyday errands and escape from the stressful demands of . . . — — Map (db m215323) HM
One of the oldest continuously operating community theatres in the Southeastern United States. Oak Ridge Playhouse began in 1943 as the Little Theatre of Oak Ridge when the city was being built for the World War II top-secret Manhattan Project. The . . . — — Map (db m176893) HM
At nearly seven feet tall and five feet wide, the 8,300-pound bronze bell symbolizes peace and reconciliation between the United States and Japan. The concept of the bell came about when Oak Ridge residents Dr Ram Uppuluri and his wife, Shigeko . . . — — Map (db m215325) HM
On Oak Ridge Turnpike (Tennessee Route 95) at South Tulane Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Oak Ridge Turnpike.
In 1940 Columbia University scientists led by John Dunning began their research to beat Germany to the atomic bomb. But it took four years before they learned how to make the key to the gaseous diffusion process – a very porous, strong “barrier” . . . — — Map (db m112350) HM
On Oak Ridge Turnpike (Tennessee Route 95) at South Tulane Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Oak Ridge Turnpike.
In 1943, General Leslie R. Groves, commander of the Manhattan Project, delegated to Colonel Kenneth D. Nichols the responsibility for administering what was to become a $2.2 billion effort. The Colonel had his headquarters here in a rambling, . . . — — Map (db m112345) HM
The Midtown Community Center first opened on February 2, 1945, in support of the World War II Manhattan Project workers and residents. The building's first use was a meeting place and recreation hall for the Middletown area, which included . . . — — Map (db m215324) HM
On South Illinois Avenue (State Highway 62), on the right when traveling north.
In 1943, Oak Ridge was created as the residential center for the Clinton Engineering Works. Located on the northeast corner of a 59,000-acre reservation acquired by the government in 1942, the community was designed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, . . . — — Map (db m81358) HM
On Oak Ridge Turnpike (Tennessee Route 95), on the right when traveling east.
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 . . . — — Map (db m112549) HM
On Oak Ridge Turnpike (Tennessee Route 95) at South Tulane Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Oak Ridge Turnpike.
In August 1945, citizens of this Secret City learned, most of them for the first time, that their hard work had made possible a weapon that was instrumental in bringing peace to a world anguished by the brutal, six-year war in which 54 million . . . — — Map (db m112346) HM
On Oak Ridge Turnpike (Tennessee Route 95) at South Tulane Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Oak Ridge Turnpike.
The medical director responsible for the nationwide Manhattan Project, Colonel Stafford L. Warren, M.D., had his headquarters in Oak ridge. A professor of radiology at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, Warren was recruited specifically . . . — — Map (db m112352) HM
This large spring-fed swimming pool was once a watering hole on Tollunteeskee's Trail, later Emery Road, first road cut and cleared through this area In 1787. In 1944, the Manhattan Project improved and opened the new swimming pool on July 29, . . . — — Map (db m215322) HM
On Oak Ridge Turnpike (Tennessee Route 95) at South Tulane Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Oak Ridge Turnpike.
The need for good schools here posed special problems. The large transplanted population wanted schools at least as good as those they left behind, and the school population was destined to skyrocket from 830 in October 1943 to 8,223 in October 1945 . . . — — Map (db m112550) HM
The rapidly increasing population of Oak Ridge during the early 1940s led to a high demand for housing. At one point, homes within the Secret City were being completed every 30 minutes. Oak Ridge needed a school system to meet the educational needs . . . — — Map (db m215320) HM
On Oak Ridge Turnpike (Tennessee Route 95) at South Tulane Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Oak Ridge Turnpike.
In 1946, 14 southern universities formed the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies (ORINS) – the first peacetime institution of this Secret City – to help faculty and students benefit from the outstanding research staff and facilities . . . — — Map (db m112344) HM
On South Tulane Avenue, on the right when traveling south.
In wartime 1943, realizing that unhappiness with living conditions would imperil the already fragile prognosis for producing uranium-235, the Army overseers of Oak Ridge strove to make life as pleasant as possible for the uprooted professionals sent . . . — — Map (db m112457) HM
On South Tulane Avenue, on the right when traveling south.
What most branded Oak Ridge as a temporary wartime community was its housing, almost half of which was added in a great rush during 1944-1945 as the town grew to five times the originally planned population of 13,000. Many thousands of the later . . . — — Map (db m112458) HM
On South Tulane Avenue, on the right when traveling south.
At the same time the Government was starting large construction programs in 1948 to build permanent housing, work started to replace the hurriedly built wartime schools. The first permanent school finished was Willowbrook Elementary in September . . . — — Map (db m112459) HM
On South Tulane Avenue, on the right when traveling south.
In 1948, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) assigned the task of transforming the “Secret City” into an incorporated city to Frederick W. “Fred” Ford, the AEC’s new Community Affairs Director. In addition to managing the . . . — — Map (db m112460) HM
On E. Madison Road, on the left when traveling north.
Built in 1943 near the main business district (Jackson Square), this standard Army chapel was soon known with the Manhattan Project as "The Chapel-on-the-Hill". On 30 September 1943 it was dedicated for Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant worship. The . . . — — Map (db m112102) HM
On Oak Ridge Turnpike (County Route 95) at Robertsville Road, on the right on Oak Ridge Turnpike.
On a route that was first authorized to be "cut and cleared" in 1787, the Rock Pillar Bridge 60 yards to the north-northeast was built in the early 1900's. This road became known as the Emery Road and was one of the earliest routes used in the . . . — — Map (db m89677) HM
On Kentucky Avenue at Broadway Avenue, on the left when traveling north on Kentucky Avenue.
The Guest House provided accommodations for visitors to the Clinton Engineering Works (Oak Ridge) during the time of the Manhattan Project, which led to the development of the atomic bomb. The Guest House hosted such dignitaries as physicists J. . . . — — Map (db m114613) HM
On Robertsville Road, on the right when traveling east.
The Robertsville Community was settled in 1804 by Collins Roberts, who had received a 4,000-acre land grant in this region. Robertsville was one of four communities in the area that predated Oak Ridge. The community was dispersed in 1942 when the . . . — — Map (db m176887) HM
On Bethel Valley Road just east of Scarboro Road, on the right when traveling east.
The Scarboro Community was founded by three brothers in the early 1790s. Jonathan, David and James Scarborough traveled from Virginia and settled here. Scarboro was one of four area communities that predated Oak Ridge. The community remained largely . . . — — Map (db m32575) HM
Before the Manhattan Project, a spring-fed lake known as the "Duck Pond once provided water for horses and cattle along Emory Road, an early route used in the settlement of Middle Tennessee. During World War II, a town sprung up seemingly . . . — — Map (db m215321) HM
On South Tulane Avenue, on the right when traveling south.
With the threat of war looming, Anderson County residents voted overwhelmingly against secession in 1861. When Confederate forces occupied East Tennessee and established a conscription center at nearby Clinton, Unionists slipped into Kentucky to . . . — — Map (db m112103) HM
On Oak Ridge Turnpike (Tennessee Route 95) at South Tulane Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Oak Ridge Turnpike.
In December 1942 University of Chicago physicists demonstrated that the newly discovered element plutonium could be made using a “pile” of uranium and graphite blocks. Aware that Germany was seeking to develop a weapon of unprecedented . . . — — Map (db m112351) HM
On Oak Ridge Turnpike (Tennessee Route 95) at South Tulane Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Oak Ridge Turnpike.
The top priority of the secret wartime Oak Ridge project was the Y-12 plant. That was the code name given to the process considered the best bet for separating weapon-grade uranium-235 (U-235) from U-238. This isotope separation process was the . . . — — Map (db m112349) HM
On Heritage Center Boulevard just south of Aluminum Street, on the right when traveling north.
This building housed the main K-25 badge and pass facility for many years during the Cold War and Reindustrialization period. Over many decades, thousands and thousands of shoes, from wingtips to work-boots stopped at this spot to enter the high . . . — — Map (db m159563) HM
On Oak Ridge Turnpike (State Highway 58) 0.2 miles north of Perimeter Drive, on the right when traveling north.
As a part of the Manhattan Project, the K-25 plant was designed to house work on separating U-235 from U-238 through the gaseous diffusion process. At the time of its construction, it was the largest industrial complex in history. Plant construction . . . — — Map (db m159562) HM
On Oak Ridge Turnpike (Tennessee Route 95) just west of Westover Drive. Reported missing.
In 1943, Oak Ridge was created as the residential center for the Clinton Engineering Works. Located on the northeast corner of a 59,000-acre reservation acquired by the government in 1942, the community was designed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, . . . — — Map (db m82315) HM
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 K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant from . . . — — Map (db m215327) HM
On US Highway 95 and state Rt 58 (Tennessee Route 95) 1 mile north of Blair Road, on the right when traveling south.
Wheat Community Citizens established the Poplar Creek Seminary in 1877 as a center of higher education for area children. The Seminary's name was changed in 1886 to Roane College, chartered by the state of Tennessee as an accredited college. At its . . . — — Map (db m88463) HM
On Blair Road near US 95, on the right when traveling north.
The Wheat Community was settled during the middle of the 19th century and took its name from the first postmaster, Frank Wheat. The area had originally been known as Bald Hill. Roane College, a liberal arts college, operated here from 1886-1908. . . . — — Map (db m121332) HM
On Oak Ridge Turnpike (State Highway 58) 0.2 miles north of Bear Creek Road, on the right when traveling north.
John Henry and Elizabeth Inman Welcker owned and operated a plantation named Laurel Banks as early as 1810, and possibly 1805. This plantation was located along the banks of the Clinch River, where the East Tennessee Technology Park (formerly the . . . — — Map (db m159564) HM
