Oak Ridge Today

Painter, archaeologist to discuss growing up in Oak Ridge, 1951-1976

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Nick Fielder

Nick Fielder

A painter and former state archeologist will discuss his experiences growing up in Oak Ridge from 1951 to 1976 during a Thursday evening meeting.

Nick Fielder served as the Tennessee State Archeologist from 1983 to 2008. His Thursday evening presentation to the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association is titled “Growing up radioactive in Oak Ridge: My adventures from 1951 to 1976. A slide-illustrated lecture by Nick Fielder.”

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. Thursday at the American Museum of Science and Energy. [Read more…]

Officials celebrate conversion of historic hotel to assisted living center

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Alexander Inn Groundbreaking

Local, state, and federal officials join volunteers and nonprofit and business executives for a groundbreaking ceremony at the historic Alexander Inn on Thursday.

Top military leaders and scientists once stayed at this historic two-story hotel in the heart of Oak Ridge, and now it’s being converted into an assisted living center.

The $5.5 million renovation of the Alexander Inn at Jackson Square started in July, the culmination of a years-long preservation effort. It could be complete by mid-2014, said Rick Dover, manager of Family Pride Corp., the company converting the hotel.

The Guest House Senior Living at the Alexander Inn will have 62 rooms, including a 17-room memory care wing.

The hotel was built during the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II. Guests who once stayed there included Gen. Leslie Groves, Secretary of War Henry Stimson, and physicists J. Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi. [Read more…]

Federal official to give K-25 preservation update Thursday

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K-25 Original Building

The K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant is pictured above as it was when it was operating. (Submitted photos)

A federal official will give an update on the historic preservation plans for the former K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge on Thursday.

Karen Doughty, who works in environmental management for the U.S. Department of Energy in Oak Ridge, will present the status update on the K-25 Historic Preservation initiative during a Thursday evening meeting of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. The public meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the Midtown Community Center at 102 Robertsville Road. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge fire chief to discuss risks, smoke alarms, exit plans

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Darryl Kerley

Darryl Kerley

Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley will discuss at-risk populations and the importance of smoke alarms and exit plans during a meeting this evening.

It’s the monthly meeting of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association, and it starts at 7 p.m. today (Thursday) at the Midtown Community Center. The public is invited.

Kerley will talk about the city’s aging population being somewhat “at risk” and the importance of smoke alarms, exit plans, and personal information forms for residents with special needs at home during an emergency. [Read more…]

Historical marker unveiled at former Poplar Creek Seminary in Wheat

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Wheat Historical Marker Group Shot

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. [Read more…]

Happy 71st birthday, Oak Ridge!

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Oak Ridge Birthday Sign

A sign at the Midtown Community Center on Robertsville Road celebrates the 71st birthday of Oak Ridge on Thursday (Submitted photo)

By Martin and Anne McBride

On Sept. 19, 1942, only two days after being appointed the head of the Manhattan Project in September 1942, Gen. Leslie R. Groves selected Oak Ridge as the first major site of the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II.

Ultimately, $1.1 billion was spent on the huge, first-of-a-kind Oak Ridge nuclear plants and the fledgling “Secret City” of Oak Ridge. This expenditure represented 72 percent of the money spent on the three principal Manhattan Project sites: Oak Ridge; Hanford, Wash.; and Los Alamos, N.M.

The Oak Ridge tract was approximately 17 miles long by an average of seven miles wide. The Corps of Engineers paid $2.6 million dollars for the land and initially named the site the “Kingston Demolition Range.” Local opposition to having a demolition range in the area caused the name to be changed to “Clinton Engineer Works.” [Read more…]

Historic preservation awards to be presented to bank, school Thursday

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CapitalMark Bank and Trust

CapitalMark Bank and Trust Oak Ridge President David Bradshaw is pictured at the original Hamilton National Bank vault. (Submitted photo)

A nonprofit organization will present this year’s historic preservation awards on Thursday, Oak Ridge’s birthday.

Two awards will be presented this year, one to CapitalMark Bank and Trust in Jackson Square and the other to the Oak Ridge School Administration Building, formerly the Pine Valley School.

The awards will be presented by the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association in back-to-back ceremonies Thursday afternoon. The first ceremony at Pine Valley School starts at 3 p.m., and the second at CapitalMark Bank and Trust at 3:45 p.m. [Read more…]

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

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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…]

ORHPA meeting offers rare look inside historic church in west Oak Ridge

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George Jones Memorial Baptist Church

A Sept. 12 meeting at the George Jones Memorial Baptist Church, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, will provide a rare look inside the church and include an overview of the history of the former Wheat community. (Photos courtesy Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association)

Next week’s meeting of a historic preservation organization will feature a rare chance to see inside the George Jones Memorial Baptist Church in west Oak Ridge, a property listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association’s monthly membership and public meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12. It includes a field trip to the former Wheat community and the George Jones Memorial Baptist Church and cemetery, which is located off Blair Road, near the former K-25 site, which is now known as the Heritage Center. [Read more…]

Guest column: Progress on the Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act

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K-25 Building Aerial View

Now mostly demolished, the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building is pictured above. The site could be included in a Manhattan Project National Historical Park. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy)

There has been significant movement in both the House and Senate on the pending legislation to create a national historical park for the Manhattan Project at Oak Ridge as well as Los Alamos, N.M., and Hanford, Wash.

On June 14, the House of Representatives voted to include the Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), H.R. 1960. A few hours later, the House passed the NDAA and, along with it, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act. The Manhattan Project Park Act, and the NDAA amendment, was sponsored by representatives Doc Hastings (R-WA), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), and Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN).

The same day, the Senate Committee on Armed Services completed its markup of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2014. Next, the full Senate must pass the bill. Once the Senate acts, a House-Senate conference committee will be appointed to reconcile differences between the two versions of the NDAA. [Read more…]

Officials to offer update on Alexander Inn project tonight

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Guest House

The Guest House in Oak Ridge, now known as the Alexander Inn, as it looked during the top-secret Manhattan Project in World War II. (Photo by Ed Westcott)

Rick Dover, general manager of the company converting the historic Alexander Inn into an assisted living center, will provide an update on the project during an Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association meeting this evening.

Also present will be Knox Heritage’s Ethiel Garlington, director of preservation field services for the East Tennessee Preservation Alliance.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. today (Thursday, July 11) in the Midtown Community Center at 102 Robertsville Road at the corner of Robertsville Road and Oak Ridge Turnpike. [Read more…]

Secret City Festival features ‘something for everyone’

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Homemade Wine Band

The Homemade Wine Band played after the Friday morning opening ceremony at the Secret City Festival.

The annual Secret City Festival started today, and it features Manhattan Project bus tours and history displays, World War II living history activities and demonstrations, arts and crafts and antiques dealers, food vendors and exhibitors, a children’s festival area and youth events, and a car show and concerts.

“Join more than 20,000 visitors and residents to celebrate the end of World War II and the heritage of Oak Ridge from 1945 to the present,” a press release said.

Oak Ridge was built during World War II as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project, a federal program to build the world’s atomic bombs, and the festival celebrates the city’s heritage.

Festival organizers have provided an overview of some of the many activities and events taking place at this year’s festival:
 [Read more…]