You can learn more about the history of Oak Ridge during World War II during a free national park walk through Jackson Square on Thursday, July 18.
The walk is offered by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge.
The program is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. July 18, at the fountain in the main parking lot in Jackson Square.
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You can walk through Wheat with a National Park Service ranger on Saturday, July 13, and learn more about the history of this community before the Manhattan Project.
Wheat was in an area that is now west Oak Ridge, and it was one of the communities displaced by the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II.
The free July 13 walk is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
[Read more…]Bring your human-powered watercraft and explore the history of life on the Clinch River on Saturday.
“On a quiet bend of Melton Hill Lake sits the oldest surviving structure in Oak Ridge, the Freels Bend Cabin dating back to 1810,” the National Park Service said. “On a 1.5-mile roundtrip paddle from Guinn Park, explore the history of the Clinch River Valley leading up to the Manhattan Project.”
Note: This is a paddle program on Melton Hill Lake. Freels Bend Cabin is on U.S. Department of Energy property, and no landings will be permitted.
The trip is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 22. To participate, please bring your own self-propelled watercraft. No boats are provided by the NPS.
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You can get an introduction to the history of the K-25 plant, which once had the world’s largest building, with a National Park Service ranger on Saturday.
K-25 was built as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II. That was a federal program to build the world’s first atomic bomb, before Germany could.
Saturday’s talk is titled “K-25: Enriching Uranium in Happy Valley.” It is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. at the K-25 Overlook across from the K-25 site, which is now known as Heritage Center or East Tennessee Technology Park. The talk is free, and it is expected to last about one hour.
[Read more…]A historical walk through Jackson Square with the Manhattan Project National Historical Park has been rescheduled to February 10 due to the winter weather in January.
The walk with the National Park Service is titled “Building America’s Secret City: Ranger Walk Through Jackson Square.” It is now scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, February 10.
“Explore what it took to shape the farms and mud of East Tennessee into the Atomic City,” an event notice said.
[Read more…]Here is information from the National Park Service about Thanksgiving in the United States, Tennessee, and Oak Ridge.
Oak Ridge is part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which commemorates the top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs during the second world war. Besides Oak Ridge, the national park includes Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico.
You can learn about settlements in the area before Oak Ridge was built during World War II during a hike with a national park ranger on Saturday, November 25.
The hike is organized by the National Park Service. Oak Ridge is part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which commemorates the top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs during the second world war. Besides Oak Ridge, the national park includes Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico.
The hike on the North Boundary Greenway is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Saturday, November 25, at the east quarry trail head.
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You can learn about Oak Ridge history at Jackson Square on Saturday.
The free program is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Saturday, January 14. It is organized by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park.
“Join a park ranger for a walk through Jackson Square,” the National Park Service said.
The program will begin in the upper parking lot of Jackson Square in front of the fountain.
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A new supervisor has been named for the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge.
The selection of Wendy Berhman as the new superintendent was announced by National Park Service Acting Regional Director Kate Hammond.
Berhman succeeds Kris Kirby, who served in the position for six years before accepting a position as associate state director for the Bureau of Land Management Wyoming State Office, the NPS said.
Besides Oak Ridge, the three-site national park includes Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico. The three sites were part of the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II. The park was established in 2015, and it is administered through a collaborative partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy.
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The City of Oak Ridge has been designated a World War II Heritage City, the only city in Tennessee to receive that designation.
The National Park Service has notified the city of the designation, Oak Ridge said in a press release Tuesday.
“The American World War II Heritage Cities Program honors the contributions of local towns, cities, (and) counties, and commemorates the stories of the men, women, and children whose bravery and sacrifices shaped the U.S. home front during World War II, and still impact our nation today,” the press release said. “Only one American World War II Heritage City can be designated in each state or territory. Oak Ridge played a critical role in history and has been designated Tennessee’s American World War II Heritage City through the program. ”
Oak Ridge was a key production site during World War II as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project, a federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons, before Germany could. Among other work, Oak Ridge enriched uranium for the first atomic bomb used in wartime and had the first reactor to make plutonium-239. A plutonium sample was sent to scientific facilities at Los Alamos, New Mexico, and more of that isotope, the fuel used in the second bomb, was produced at Hanford, Washington.
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You can learn about secrecy, security, and spies during the Manhattan Project in World War II in Oak Ridge on Saturday, December 17.
This National Park Service program is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. December 17 at the Oak Ridge Turnpike gatehouse on the west end of town.
“The program is accessible to all visitors and will give insight to what life was like in Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project with heightened security, need for secrecy, and worry of spies,” the NPS said in a newsletter.
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Early Oak Ridge, including its school system, shopping centers, and housing, will be discussed during a hike with National Park Service rangers on Saturday, December 10.
The hike is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. December 10 at Cedar Hill Park, the former location of Cedar Hill Elementary School.
“Along the hike, we’ll discuss the early school system of Oak Ridge, early shopping centers, and housing in the Clinton Engineer Works (a name for Oak Ridge during World War II),” the NPS said.
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