A historical marker honoring the Poplar Creek Seminary was unveiled in the Wheat community in west Oak Ridge on Wednesday. Pictured above from left are Ray Smith, Mick Wiest, Martin McBride, Anne McBride, Bonita Irwin, Bobbie Martin, Billy Stair, and Steve Goodpasture. (Submitted photo)
A historical marker honoring the former Poplar Creek Seminary was unveiled in the Wheat community in west Oak Ridge on Wednesday, a press release said.
The seminary was founded in 1877 and later became the Roane College, and later Wheat High School, and was a center of higher education for area children at the time, the press release said. The school was closed in 1942 when the community became part of the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal project to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II.
The marker is from the State of Tennessee. The sign itself was purchased by UT-Battelle, which manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the press release said.
The marker is along Highway 58 near the Wheat Church. Representatives from the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association attended Wednesday’s ceremony and representatives of the community were also expected to attend along with the U.S. Department of Energy, UT-Battelle, and the Wheat Alumnae Association, which has an annual reunion planned at the church this weekend.
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