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.
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You can learn about Wheat, a community before World War II, during a walk in west Oak Ridge on Saturday.
The walk will be led by a National Park Service ranger starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 5. The program will begin at Blair Road and the North Boundary Greenway.
Wheat was a community that existed in what is now west Oak Ridge before the city 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 weapons, before Germany could.
Oak Ridge is one of three sites that are part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The other two are Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico.
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Note: This story was updated at 9:45 a.m. June 11.
More than 1,000 people marched and protested in Oak Ridge last week, asking for equal treatment for black people.
They said the nation is obligated to fight systemic racism, racial inequality, and police brutality. They want to live without fear. They advocated for police reforms, accountability, and the use of de-escalation tactics.
Protesters hope to end 400 years of oppression that started with slavery in America in 1619 and continued after the Civil War with attacks on black people, lynchings, the Ku Klux Klan, segregation, discrimination, and racism. That oppression has been felt in Oak Ridge, and some young adults and teenagers said they have experienced or witnessed racism.
Protesters said they were angry, upset, and frustrated. They called the death of George Floyd while he was detained by police in Minneapolis last month a murder. They recalled the deaths of other black men and boys, some killed by police and others by citizens. They acknowledged that there are many good police officers, but they condemned police officers who they said hide behind their badges to do wicked deeds.
“Enough is enough,” protesters said. “We are done dying.”
Protesters met at Oak Ridge High School Tuesday afternoon, June 2, and marched to the Oak Ridge Civic Center. They carried signs and wore T-shirts that said “Black Lives Matter” and “I can’t breathe.” They chanted “No justice, no peace” and, led by organizer Trevor King, “Make racism illegal.” Silence is compliance, the protesters said, and silence in the face of evil is itself evil.
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Join a park ranger for a walk through the pre-Manhattan Project community of Wheat on Saturday, September 14.
Wheat was in what is now west Oak Ridge, around the area of Heritage Center, the former K-25 site. It was one of several local communities displaced by the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II.
Oak Ridge and two other sites involved in the Manhattan Project—Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico—are now part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park.
[Read more…]You can learn more about Wheat, a community that was here before the Manhattan Project, during a walk with a National Park Service ranger on Saturday, July 27.
The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will present the ranger-led walk starting at 10 a.m. July 27. The program is free, and it will start at Blair Road and the North Boundary Greenway.
“The walk will be about one-and-one-half miles, so wear comfortable walking shoes and bring water to drink,” a press release said. “Stops will include ‘downtown’ Wheat, George Jones Memorial Baptist Church, Roane College site, and the Crawford Cumberland Presbyterian Memorial. There will be stories about the development and significance of each site.”
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You can join a National Park Service park ranger for a ranger-led walk through the pre-Manhattan Project community of Wheat on Wednesday, June 19. The former community was in what is now west Oak Ridge.
The free program on June 19 is presented by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. It is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. at Blair Road and the North Boundary Greenway. The walk will be about 1.5 miles, so wear comfortable walking shoes and bring water to drink, a press release said. Stops will include “downtown†Wheat, George Jones Memorial Baptist Church, Roane College site, and the Crawford Cumberland Presbyterian Memorial. There will be stories about the development and significance of each site, the press release said.
[Read more…]
A historical marker for the Poplar Creek Seminary is pictured above near State Route 58 in the former Wheat community in west Oak Ridge. The George Jones Memorial Baptist Church is in the background. (Submitted photo)
We’ve been thinking recently that maybe we should run an occasional feature called “Did you know?” on Oak Ridge Today that would highlight interesting facts about Oak Ridge that might not be widely known. This could be information that makes the city unique or unusual, but doesn’t normally fit into a news story. Many of these could be history-related facts, but they wouldn’t all have to be.
Here’s an example from the K-25 History Center unveiling celebration last week:
Did you know that the Wheat community in what is now west Oak Ridge was once famous for its peach orchards? The peaches were sold across the country, according to Mick Wiest, president of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association.
Besides its peaches, Wheat was also famous for its schools and education, Wiest said during a Thursday ceremony for the K-25 History Center at the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site. [Read more…]
Aaron Astor, an associate history professor at Maryville College, discussed life along the Clinch River in Anderson and Roane counties before Oak Ridge was built in a special meeting at the historic Freels Bend Cabin on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016 during a meeting of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. The Freels Bend Cabin was built in 1844, and it is the oldest structure in Oak Ridge. It’s on the National Historic Register. (Photo by D. Ray Smith)
Aaron Astor, an associate history professor at Maryville College, discussed life along the Clinch River in Anderson and Roane counties before Oak Ridge was built in a special meeting at the historic Freels Bend Cabin on Thursday, October 13.
It was the monthly public and membership meeting of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. Here are pictures by D. Ray Smith.
The Freels Bend Cabin was built in 1844, and it is the oldest structure in Oak Ridge. It’s on the National Historic Register. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge resident and pilot Jerry Depew, center, talks to Billy Stair, a consultant for the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority, during an information session on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2015, to discuss a proposed property transfer for a general aviation airport at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was updated at 4:36 p.m.
Conditions are subject to change, but current plans call for starting construction on a general aviation airport at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site, in 2018. The current estimate range says the airport could cost between $30 million and $40 million, officials said Wednesday.
Work on an airport master plan is just starting, and it could take 12 months to complete, said Bill Marrison, president of the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority. He said that plan will provide more details on subjects like cost and schedule.
The Oak Ridge airport would the third for the MKAA, which would own the site. The other two are McGhee Tyson in Blount County and Downtown Island in Knoxville.
Marrison said the Oak Ridge airport would be a reliever airport and help relieve congestion at the other two airports. He said McGhee Tyson is at capacity and there is no hangar space available, and Downtown Island has 100 people on its waiting list. [Read more…]
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…]
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…]
A plan for the Southern Appalachia Railway Museum that had been proposed at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site. (Submitted image)
Note: This story was updated at 10:13 a.m.
A railroad museum that has been planned for years at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site, will not be built due to budget constraints, officials said Monday.
The lowest qualified bid for the 3,315-square-foot facility came in at nearly $1 million, or about 26 percent more than expected, a press release said.
The Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee’s Heritage Center LLC and the Southern Appalachian Railway Museum determined this week that the cost was too high, the press release said. [Read more…]
