Note: This story was updated at 12:30 p.m.
The Freels Bend Cabin, Oak Ridge’s oldest structure, was recognized with a historical sign in October.
The historical sign by the Tennessee Historical Commission said the Freels Bend Cabin, next to Melton Hill Lake east of Clark Center Park in south Oak Ridge, is the only Oak Ridge home that is still standing that was built in the 1800s.
It was one of the earliest cabins built in Anderson County. It’s on the National Historic Register.
Edward Freels started building the cabin in 1810, according to the Tennessee Historical Commission sign. The cabin was a double-pen, hewn-log structure, the sign said. The techniques used in its construction are representative of those used in the area in the early 19th century, the Tennessee Historical Commission said.
Local historic preservationists celebrated with a sign unveiling in October.
The Freels Bend Cabin in not normally open to the public. It is on restricted U.S. Department of Energy land. But there are occasional visits to the cabin that are open to the public.
The city that is now Oak Ridge was built more than 75 years ago as part of the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II. The city displaced communities, farms, and families who were here before the war. Only a few of the pre-war structures remain, including the Freels Bend Cabin.
See previous stories on the Freels Bend Cabin here.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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