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The legacy of Bill Wilcox lives on at K-25 History Center

Posted at 10:01 am October 20, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Ray Smith, Y-12 National Security Complex historian and city historian, announces a book published posthumously that was written by Bill Wilcox, a former city historian, former technical director at K-25 and Y-12, and a passionate advocate for historic preservation, including the history of the former K-25 site. Smith announced the book at a ceremony unveiling plans for a K-25 History Center on the second floor of the city-owned fire station at the the former K-25 site, now known as East Tennessee Technology Park on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Ray Smith, Y-12 National Security Complex historian and city historian, announces a book published posthumously that was written by Bill Wilcox, a former city historian, former technical director at K-25 and Y-12, and a passionate advocate for historic preservation, including of the former K-25 site. Smith announced the book at a ceremony unveiling plans for a K-25 History Center on the second floor of the city-owned fire station at K-25, now known as East Tennessee Technology Park, on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

He was a passionate advocate for preserving Oak Ridge’s history.

He was known for his bow ties and captivating storytelling. He once led the effort to save the former K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge, or at least part of it.

Now the legacy of Bill Wilcox will live on at the K-25 History Center.

Construction on the history center could start early next year on the second floor of Oak Ridge Fire Station Number Four. That fire station, previously transferred to the city, is on the south side of the former K-25 Building at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge.

Officials preparing for the construction of the history center gave tours of its future home at the fire station on Thursday. The tours followed a lunchtime celebration that featured tributes to Wilcox and included speeches and presentations by U.S. Department of Energy and Oak Ridge officials, and federal contractors and historic preservation advocates. Wilcox was hailed as the “father of K-25 historic preservation.”

“He would have been really proud,” said Ray Smith, Wilcox’s friend and Y-12 National Security Complex historian and city historian. “His legacy lives on.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, ETTP, Front Page News, K-25, Oak Ridge Office, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: 75th anniversary, Alexander Guest House, Alexander Inn, atomic weapons, Bill Wilcox, Clinton Engineer Works, Cold War, DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, equipment building, ETTP, gaseous diffusion, Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Gordon Fee, Hanford, Heritage Center, Hiroshima, history center, Jay Mullis, K-25 Building, K-25 Historic Preservation, K-25 History Center, K-25: A Brief History of the Manhattan Project’s ‘Biggest’ Secret, K-27, K-29, K-31, K-33, Ken Rueter, Little Boy, Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Los Alamos, Manhattan Project, Manhattan Project National Historical Park, Mick Wiest, Nagasaki, National Historic Preservation Act, North Tower, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Fire Station Number Four, Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Partnership for K-25 Preservation, Ray Smith, Steve Goodpasture, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR, uranium enrichment, viewing tower, Warren Gooch, World War II, X-10, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex

Wilcox never gave up on plan to preserve K-25 history, former DOE manager says

Posted at 7:20 pm September 8, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

K-25 Building Aerial View

Now mostly demolished, the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building is pictured above. Bill Wilcox, a former technical director at K-25 and the Y-12 National Security Complex, led the fight to preserve K-25’s history. Wilcox died Monday, Sept. 2, and his funeral was Saturday. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy)

The fight to preserve the history of the K-25 site in west Oak Ridge was long and arduous. Among the challenges were federal funding battles and deteriorated building conditions.

Other people might have considered the dilapidated K-25 Building, once the world’s largest building under one roof, a “useless hulk,” one friend and colleague said. But historic preservationist Bill Wilcox, who died Monday evening, never gave up on his dream of honoring the site’s history.

Now mostly demolished, the mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building was erected as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. That was a federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II. But the four-story building has been shut down since 1964 and fallen into disrepair, and the U.S. Department of Energy is converting the site into a massive industrial park and demolishing many of the original buildings. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge Office, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Alexander Inn, atomic bombs, Atomic Heritage Foundation, Bill Wilcox, Cindy Kelly, Cold War, Craig M. Kallio, D. Ray Smith, DOE, Ed Westcott, Gerald Boyd, Gordon Fee, Hanford, history, K-25, K-25 Building, Los Alamos, Manhattan Project, Manhattan Project National Historical Park, Mercury Task Force, National Park Service, north end, nuclear weapons, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Office, Partnership for K-25 Preservation, PKP, Pollard Auditorium, Secret City Commemorative Walk, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, St. Stephen’s Memorial Garden, U.S. Department of Energy, World War II, Y-12 National Security Complex

Bill Wilcox, passionate advocate for preserving Oak Ridge’s history, dies at 90

Posted at 10:33 am September 3, 2013
By John Huotari 6 Comments

Bill Wilcox and Clifton Truman Daniel

Wearing his trademark bow tie, Bill Wilcox, left, is pictured at the New Hope Center earlier this year with Clifton Truman Daniel, oldest grandson of former U.S. President Harry S. Truman. (Photos by D. Ray Smith)

Bill Wilcox, a passionate advocate for preserving Oak Ridge’s history who was known for his bow ties and captivating storytelling, died Monday evening. He was 90.

Wilcox died at NHC, longtime friend Gordon Fee said. He had been moved there from Methodist Medical Center, where he had been hospitalized for almost three weeks with heart issues and shortness of breath, Fee said.

“We’ve lost a person who had more knowledge of our history than anyone else I’ve ever known,” said friend D. Ray Smith, Y-12 National Security Complex historian and newspaper columnist.

Wilcox was a chemist who started working at Y-12 during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal project to build the world’s first atomic bombs.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, East Tennessee Technology Park, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: atomic bombs, Bill Wilcox, David Bradshaw, Gordon Fee, Heritage Center, history, K-25, Manhattan Project, Methodist Medical Center, NHC, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association, Ray Smith, World War II, Y-12 National Security Complex

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Classifieds

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

Public notice: Draft environmental assessment for Y-12 Development Organization at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

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