Oak Ridge Tennessee Then and Now

Most of us have heard the jokes about the South – there is a Baptist Church on every corner, at least one Dollar General Store in every town, no matter how small, and a Waffle House open 24-hours a day. Turns out, these aren’t stero types but the reality of the south. In a good way.

Both in Tennessee and Mississippi we had waffles at a Waffle House. To me the best part of ordering Waffles in the south was getting Peanut Butter Chips on them. It’s even better than Peanut Butter Syrup! Now I might just need to keep Peanut Butter Chips in my pantry!

We learned so much about the history of America during this trip. It was amazing. For example, in December of 1941, the town of Oak Ridge Tennessee was nothing more than wide open space some 25 miles west of Knoxville. In other words, Oak Ridge didn’t exist. Nor was it settled in the traditional sense.

When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, it drew the United States into the conflict. In 1942 the government forcibly purchased nearly 60,000 acres of farmland. A fence was erected, and a city with 75,000 residents was created. This city was kept secret from the American people. Not even those living and working in Oak Ridge knew the extent of what was taking place there. The whole point of Oak Ridge was to create a production site in a rural part of Tennessee for the Manhattan Project. This project was on a massive scale involving American, British and Canadian scientist and engineers developing the Atomic Bomb. This slice of Tennessee was chosen due to its low population, while still having access to highways and rail for transportation of materials and supplies. Vital utilities such as electricity were also in place. All that was necessary was to snap up the farmland, erect a town complete with miles and miles of laboratories, then build a fence around it, and shut out the rest of the world. As astonishing as that sounds, the government did just that. Due to the urgency and top secret nature of the project, the taking of the land was both swift and final. Some came home to find eviction notices on the doors of their farmhouses. Others learned of the relocation when their children came home from school with a message from the principle. The message was simple “tell your parents you are going to have to find another place to live immediately.” No further explanation was given.

This was a different time indeed. While perplexed, and some even angry, it was the US Government’s doing. This was a matter of duty, no questions were asked.

By March 1943 any remains of earlier communities was gone, a fence existed with checkpoints at every turn. Prior to 1942, about 3,500 people lived in and around the area. By 1945, at the end of the project, over 75,000 people lived in the secret Military-created and controlled town of Oak Ridge. It was the 5th largest city in all of Tennessee at the time, yet it was hidden.

Today the smaller town of Oak Ridge (population 31,400 as of 2020) is proud of its contributions to the war efforts. With displays throughout the American Museum of Science and Energy, visitors are given a clear sense of what this meant to those involved back then. The Museum is also proud of what the future holds for Oak Ridge. My guys loved the hands-on exibits. I liked listening to radio broadcasts from World War II.

Throughout the Cold War, Oak Ridge continued to play a roll in nuclear development. Now that the cold war is over, Oak Ridge continues to develop advancements in Science and Energy. Today the fence is gone. People can come and go. Their workforce is skilled, educated and inovated. At the Museum are displays of a multitude of inventions in various stages of development. Once finalized for mass production these will make our everyday lives even easier. There is a replica of a military jeep made from a 3-D printer and even a working prototype of printed car are on display. The car is battery powdered, can reach speeds of 40-MPH and has a range of 100-miles on a single charge.

This amazig Museum holds educational field trips for local children and is open to anyone in the public who would like to spend the better part of a day learning about both the past of Oak Ridge and the current direction of a place that might one day hold the keys to the future.

You never know.