Oak Ridge, Tenn. – (May 27, 2008) – This year’s Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association (ORHPA) exhibit will feature fascinating elements from early Oak Ridge that the whole family will enjoy.
The exhibit will be located in the A & B and Club rooms of the Oak Ridge Civic Center, just behind the Oak Ridge Public Library. Exhibit hours will be Friday, June 20 from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm and Saturday, June 21 from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.
Plan now to come inside and enjoy the exhibit in the cool air conditioning while you visit the festival. Visitors will also be given a souvenir reproduction of a Manhattan Project visitor pass, just like the ones used while Oak Ridge was a true “Secret City” during WWII.
This year’s exhibit will focus on Oak Ridge’s World War II Manhattan Project heritage and will also feature a number of new exhibits. Among the new items will be an exhibit on submarines, a display on pre-war Oak Ridge area residents, an exhibit on Oak Ridge’s Native American heritage, and a Manhattan Project vintage schoolroom courtesy of the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.
On Saturday afternoon, come meet an actual WWII hero, Tom Evans. Evans piloted the famed B-25 Mitchell Bomber, the “Sunday Punch,” during the war. The Sunday Punch was paid for with voluntary contributions from Oak Ridge’s wartime workers. This particular model of B-25 bomber featured eighteen 50-caliber machine guns and a 3,000 pound bomb load, making it one of the most heavily armed attack aircraft in the WWII Allied arsenal.
The ORHPA rooms will feature a modern REMOTEC robot, often used in bomb-disposal activities by the US military.
The ORHPA exhibit will include the following material, displays and participants:
Oak Ridge Heritage display by the Oak Ridge Fire Department
Seven Key Heritage Structures by The American Museum of Science and Energy
Extensive Collections of WWII Manhattan Project historic Memorabilia
Tom Evans, Pilot of the WWII B-25 Mitchell Bomber, The Sunday Punch
Ed Westcott, World Famous Manhattan Project Photographer
Oak Ridge Native American Exhibit: Cross Roads of America
Pre-War Oak Ridge Heritage Display by the Pellissippi Genealogical and Historical Society
Original sketches of Historic Oak Ridge by Fred Heddleson of Tenn-E-Scenes
Woodland Elementary School History Project
Manhattan Project vintage schoolroom courtesy of the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge
A Fascinating REMOTEC Robot
Atoms for Peace Display
Mid Town Community Center Historical Timeline
Early Oak Ridge Days photo display
ORHPA Welcome Desk
DVD Documentaries, heritage books, and other souvenirs of early Oak Ridge from The Secret City Store
Partnership for K-25 Preservation Model of the future K-25 Interpretive Center
Ed Sullivan, Author of the Manhattan Project Book “The Ultimate Weapon”
Submarine Model and Display by the Smoky Mountain Submarine Veterans
In 1944, the Manhattan Project cost the United States almost $2 billion to build, and it produced the world’s first atomic bombs. Expressed in today’s dollars, the Manhattan Project cost over $21 billion dollars. From the beginning, Oak Ridge was the very heart of the project. Over 60% of the money spent during the Manhattan Project was ultimately spent in Oak Ridge.
Preparations began in late 1942 to build a huge nuclear complex in east Tennessee along with a “temporary” Secret City. The federal government soon procured 52,000 acres (which later grew to 59,000 acres) of land for about fifty dollars an acre. Preparations were then made to condemn the property and move several thousand existing Tennessee residents out, forcing them to leave their homes, businesses, schools, and churches.
At the time, the east Tennessee area was so remote that only one paved road passed through it. Water for early Manhattan Project workers had to be trucked in from the nearby town of Clinton.
Yet, electrical power from TVA was plentiful and the Oak Ridge reservation could be reached by both rail and river. In addition, a large nearby population center (Knoxville) could supply many of the workers needed for the project. The work in Oak Ridge became a top priority.
Once the Manhattan Project got underway, the population in the Secret City expanded quickly. Military planners initially expected Oak Ridge’s population to top out at about 13,000. But by 1945, the population had grown to over 75,000, with many thousands more workers housed in the area around the reservation.
Everyone within the Secret City was expected to carry a security badge or pass, even visitors and family members. The city was surrounded by a tall fence and patrolled around the clock by a large security force. Secrecy and security were demanded of everyone. No individual got in or out of the city without proper authorization and a pass. (Note: A free replica of an actual WWII Secret City visitor pass will be given to everyone who visits this year’s ORHPA exhibit at the Secret City Festival.)
With so many thousands of workers toiling on the reservation, it is something of a miracle that Oak Ridge’s Secret City managed to maintain its secrecy during WWII. Yet, it did. Very few people had any knowledge of the Manhattan Project’s ultimate goal: To build the world’s first atomic bomb.
For further information on the ORHPA Secret City Festival Exhibit, please contact Ms. Bobbie Martin at (865) 482-4327.
Immediate Release: May 27, 2008