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Atomic Heritage Foundation launches new audio, visual program on Oak Ridge

Posted at 1:57 pm January 26, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Bill Wilcox 90th Birthday Party

Oak Ridge City Historian Bill Wilcox, who died in 2013, was a longtime advocate for preserving the city’s history, including parts of its federal facilities. Wilcox is pictured above at his 90th birthday party in the spring of 2013.

 

Submitted

“There was construction going on everywhere you looked,” Bill Wilcox remembered, describing his first impressions of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. “Trucks and people just crawling all over the place, hammers and banging. Wooden structures going up everywhere. Nothing was paved, and there weren’t any sidewalks.”

Wilcox was one of the thousands of people who moved to the new “Secret City” of Oak Ridge to work on the Manhattan Project, the top-secret World War II effort to develop an atomic bomb.

The Atomic Heritage Foundation has launched a new online interpretive program on Oak Ridge with 16 audio/visual vignettes. This beta program is part of AHF’s “Ranger in Your Pocket” series on the Manhattan Project, which focuses on former Manhattan Project sites and features vignettes with eyewitness accounts and expert commentary. AHF welcomes feedback and will improve and expand upon the program over the next year, a press release said.

In September 1942, Manhattan Project director General Leslie Groves designated “Site X,” approximately 59,000 acres of land on the Clinch River in rural eastern Tennessee, as the site for the project’s uranium production facilities. Approximately 3,000 people living in the area in five small farming communities were forced to leave their homes and land with minimal compensation. Construction of a new city began at breakneck speed. By the end of World War II, some 75,000 people would call Oak Ridge home, making it the fifth-largest city in Tennessee. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Front Page News, Government, Nonprofits, Oak Ridge, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: atomic bomb, Atomic Heritage Foundation, Bill Wilcox, calutrons, Clinch River, Colleen Black, Denise Kiernan, electromagnetic separation, enriched uranium, gaseous diffusion, Gladys Evans, Hiroshima, IEEE Foundation, K-25, Leslie Groves, liquid thermal diffusion, Manhattan Project, Mary Lowe Michel, nuclear reactor, Oak Ridge, online interpretive program, Philip Abelson, plutonium production, Ranger in Your Pocket, Ray Stein, S-50, Site X, uranium enrichment, uranium isotopes, uranium production, William S. “Deak” Parsons, World War II, X-10, X-10 Graphite Reactor, Y-12

Oak Ridge could set up committee to celebrate its 75th anniversary

Posted at 3:34 pm July 8, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Y-12 Calutron Girls

Women enriching uranium in calutrons at Y-12 as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II. The 75th anniversary of the city that became Oak Ridge and still includes Y-12 is Sept. 19, 2017. (Photo by Ed Westcott)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider setting up a committee to celebrate the city’s 75th anniversary.

Oak Ridge’s birthday has been recognized on September 19. That’s because the city that is now Oak Ridge was picked for the top-secret Manhattan Project on September 19, 1942, almost 75 years ago. That was the day that General Leslie Groves approved the acquisition of 59,000 acres of land along the Clinch River for what soon became the Manhattan Project, a federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs, before Germany could. Oak Ridge was then 90 square miles of East Tennessee farmland. It was the first site for Manhattan Project facilities.

By the time President Franklin Delano Roosevelt authorized the Manhattan Project on December 28, 1942, work on the East Tennessee site where the first production facilities were to be built was already under way.

Oak Ridge became the home of two uranium enrichment plants (K-25 and Y-12), a liquid thermal diffusion plant (S-50), and a pilot plutonium production reactor (X-10 Graphite Reactor). Groves approved Oak Ridge as the site for the pilot plutonium plant and the uranium enrichment plant in 1942. Manhattan Project engineers had to quickly build a town to accommodate 30,000 workers—as well as build the enormously complex plants. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge Tagged With: 75th anniversary, American Museum of Science and Energy, Atomic Heritage Foundation, Bill Wilcox, calutrons, Celebrate Oak Ridge, Children's Museum of Oak Ridge, Clinton Engineer Works, Explore Oak Ridge, first atomic bombs, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jackson Square, K-25, Leslie Groves, liquid thermal diffusion, Manhattan Project, Mark Watson, Mick Wiest, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau, Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association, pilot plutonium production, Ray Smith, S-50, Site X, steering committee, Tom Beehan, uranium enrichment, Warren Gooch, World War II, X-10 Graphite Reactor, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex

First year: More than 80,000 visit three Manhattan Project Park sites in 2016

Posted at 6:30 pm December 7, 2016
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

bill-wilcox-and-international-friendship-bell-scaled

The late Bill Wilcox by the International Friendship Bell in Oak Ridge. (Courtesy of Friends of the International Friendship Bell via Atomic Heritage Foundation)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12 p.m. Dec. 8.

More than 80,000 people have visited the three sites of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge, according to a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C.

Besides Oak Ridge, the park includes Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico.

In Oak Ridge, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park has a volunteer or ranger at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge when the museum is open. The park also has activities. For example, there is a program on secrecy, security, and spies at the Oak Ridge Turnpike Gatehouse in west Oak Ridge on Saturday, December 17. And the park, in partnership with the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, will be featuring a Parks in Focus photography exhibit during the month of December. The photography exhibit is located in the Imagination Gallery at the museum located at 461 West Outer Drive.

Also, a virtual tour of the K-25 Building can be found at the new K-25 Virtual Museum website. And from March to November, admission to AMSE includes a three-hour bus tour of the Oak Ridge Reservation, including the X-10 Graphite Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, New Bethel Church at ORNL, the visitor overlook at the East Tennessee Technology Park (former home to the K-25 gaseous diffusion building), and Y-12 New Hope History Center. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Federal, Federal, Front Page News, Government, Nonprofits, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: American Museum of Science and Energy, AMSE, atomic bomb, Atomic Heritage Foundation, atomic weapons, B Reactor, Beta 3, Bill Wilcox, Building 9204-3, Building 9731, Colleen French, East Tennessee Technology Park, gaseous diffusion, Hanford, International Friendship Bell, K-25, K-25 Building, K-25 virtual museum, Kris Kirby, Los Alamos, Los Alamos History Museum, Manhattan Project, Manhattan Project National Historical Park, National Park Service, New Hope History Center, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Reservation, ORNL, Tri-City Herald, World War II, X-10 Graphite Reactor, Y-12 National Security Complex, Ziad Demian

DOE, National Park Service mark first year of Manhattan Project Park

Posted at 1:56 am December 6, 2016
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

By U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management

The U.S. Department of Energy and the National Park Service have made considerable progress in their inaugural year managing the national park commemorating the Manhattan Project, according to DOE.

“Everyone involved with the park from DOE, the National Park Service, and our community partners has put a lot of work into the Manhattan Project National Historical Park over the past year and it shows,” DOE Office of Legacy Management Acting Director Thomas Pauling said in a November 30 newsletter called “EM Update.” “The Office of Legacy Management is excited to join the team, and we’re looking forward to contributing to its continuing success.”

Established on November 10, 2015, the park consists of facilities at three sites—Hanford, Washington; Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico—that played key roles in the creation of the atomic bomb during World War II as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. The park tells the story of the people, events, science, and engineering that led to the creation of the atomic bomb, which helped end World War II. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government, Government, Slider Tagged With: atomic bomb, B Reactor, DOE, DOE Office of Legacy Management, EM Update, Hanford, Hanford High School, Kris Kirby, Los Alamos, Manhattan Project, Manhattan Project National Historical Park, National Nuclear Security Administration, National Park Service, NPS, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Reservation, Office of Environmental Management, Secrecy Security and Spies, Tracy Atkins, U.S. Department of Energy, World War II, X-10 Graphite Reactor

Senate passes Manhattan Project park bill that includes Oak Ridge

Posted at 11:58 pm December 12, 2014
By John Huotari 2 Comments

Manhattan Project Park Sites

Note: This story was last updated at 11 a.m. Dec. 14.

House approved bill last week; legislation now headed to President Obama

After years of work, the U.S. Senate has passed a bill to set up a Manhattan Project National Historical Park that includes Oak Ridge, a once-secret city that played a key role in ending World War II. The legislation passed the U.S. House last week, and it now goes to President Barack Obama, who is expected to sign it into law.

Besides Oak Ridge, the park will include Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Hanford, Washington. Those two cities were also part of the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to develop the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Government, Oak Ridge, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Alexander Inn, American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation, atomic bomb, Atomic Heritage Foundation, atomic weapons, B Reactor, Barack Obama, Ben Ray Lujan, Beta-3 Calutrons, Bob Corker, Building 9204-3, Building 9731, Chuck Fleischmann, Clark Bunting, Cynthia C. Kelly, Department of Interior, Doc Hastings, East Tennessee Economic Council, Energy Communities Alliance, Enrico Fermi, Ernest O. Lawrence, Guest House, Gun Site, Hanford, Jeff Bingaman, K-25 Building, Lamar Alexander, Leslie Groves, Los Alamos, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Manhattan Project, Manhattan Project National Historical Park, Manhattan Project park, Maria Cantwell, Mark Watson, Martin Heinrich, National Defense Authorization Act, National Park Service, National Parks Conservation Association, National Trust for Historic Preservation, NDAA, NPCA, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association, Patty Murray, Pete Domenici, Pilot Plant, The Gun Site, Tom Beehan, Tom Udall, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. House, U.S. Senate, uranium, V Site, Warren Gooch, World War II, X-10 Graphite Reactor, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex

Atomic Heritage still hopeful that Manhattan Project Park legislation will pass

Posted at 5:46 pm December 3, 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. The site could be included in a Manhattan Project National Historical Park. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy)

Note: This story was updated at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 4.

A bill to create a Manhattan Project National Park that would include Oak Ridge has already passed the U.S. House of Representatives, but now it’s tied up in the Senate.

Still, the nonprofit Atomic Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., remains hopeful that the legislation will pass.

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act was included as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which the House passed in June.

The Senate is now negotiating the procedure for considering 507 amendments that have been offered to that legislation, the Atomic Heritage Foundation said in a Tuesday e-mail. [Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, Federal, Government, Government, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Atomic Heritage Foundation, atomic weapons, B Reactor, Ben Ray Lujan, Chuck Fleischmann, Congres, Congress, Doc Hastings, Gun Site, Hanford, J. Robert Oppenheimer, K-25, K-25 Building, Little Boy, Los Alamos, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Manhattan Project, Manhattan Project National Historical Park, Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act, Maria Cantwell, Mark Udall, Martin Heinrich, National Defense Authorization Act, NDAA, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oppenheimer House, Patty Murray, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, V Site, X-10, X-10 Graphite Reactor

House passes Manhattan Project national park bill that would include Oak Ridge

Posted at 8:11 pm June 14, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 8 Comments

X-10 Graphite Reactor

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park would include the X-10 Graphite Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Submitted photo)

The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday took an essential step toward establishing a Manhattan Project National Historical Park that could include Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, N.M., and Hanford, Wash., a nonprofit organization said.

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act was included as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which the House passed Friday, the Atomic Heritage Foundation said in an e-mail.

“The new national park will be the first to recognize the top-secret project in World War II that changed the course of world history, science, and society,” the foundation said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Top Stories Tagged With: atomic bombs, Atomic Heritage Foundation, B Reactor, Ben Ray Lujan, Chicago Pile I, Chuck Fleischmann, Doc Hastings, Gun Site, Hanford, Helene Suydam, J. Robert Oppenheimer, K-25, K-25 Building, Lamar Alexander, Little Boy, Los Alamos, Los Alamos Historical Society, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Manhattan Project, Manhattan Project National Historical Park, Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act, Maria Cantwell, Martin Heinrich, National Defense Authorization Act, National Park Service, NDAA, Oak Ridge, Oppenheimer House, Patty Murray, Ron Wyden, Tom Udall, U.S. House of Representatives, University of Chicago, V Site, World War II, X-10 Graphite Reactor

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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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