America's Secret Atomic City
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The city of Oak Ridge located in
eastern Tennessee was established in 1942
as the production site for the
Manhattan Project, the American, British and
Canadian operation to
develop the atomic bomb. At its height, over 75,000
people lived there,
but most of them had no idea that they were producing
uranium until the
bombs dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. In a fascinating
look into
this 'secret' town, learn about the residents' daily life and the
sacrifices they made for the atomic bomb.
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Beginning in October, 1942, the
United States Army Corps of Engineers
acquired the Oak Ridge area for
the construction of the Manhattan Project.
The town was chosen by Major
General Leslie Groves due its low population
and discrete location, all
of which would aid in keeping the town a secret.
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Billboards across the town reminded
the residents of Oak Ridge of their duty, to
keep the project a secret
and to complete their job. One resident recalls, "If
somebody was to ask
you, 'What are you making out there in Oak Ridge,' you'd
say, '79 cents
an hour."
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While the town was open to the public, the non-military section of the town was
fenced and guarded to limit who came in and out.
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The vehicle inspection stop had no
exceptions and everyone was searched,
including the highest ranking
military officials. This was at the height of the
war and the military
wanted to make sure no one would leak information on
the bomb. If the
workers themselves asked too many questions about what
they were doing,
they would be thrown out of the community immediately.
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Workers were forbidden from saying
certain words like helium or the names
of the equipment they worked
with. This had a negative influence on the morale
in the factories and
the workers became suspicious. They were told that they
were doing a
very important job for their country, but could not see the results
of
their duties.
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In order to fix the problem of
morale, the government decided to make Oak
Ridge into the perfect
American town, with theatres, roller-skating rinks, sports
teams,
bowling allies and more. The goal was to keep workers pleased during
their free-time so that they would be more motivated at work.
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Almost all of the residents of Oak
Ridge were young, and although there were
schools, many of the couples
were discouraged from having children. This was
so they could better
serve the project and the mission.
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The large number of workers in the
famous Y-12, K-25 and S-50 uranium plants
were recruited by the
government, which led them to the conclusion that it would be worthwhile
to build an entire town, instead of just a large camp.The town that
was created had over 300 miles of road (480 km), 55 milesof railroad
tracks (89 km), seven theaters, 17 restaurants and 13 supermarkets.
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By 1945, Oak Ridge was home to so
many residents that one of the largest bus
systems in the entire U.S.
was established there. The entire town of 75,000 residents was using
more electricity than New York City.
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This abandoned cabin was photographed
in 1947, only a few years after the U.S. government took over town. The
56,000 acres on which Oak Ridge was built had previously been farmland
where some families were given only twoweeks' notice by the government
to vacate their farms.
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Residents celebrated V-J day (Victory
over Japan day) just like the rest of America because they had no idea
that they were developing the atomic bomb that ended the war.
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Two years after World War II ended,
the town of Oak Ridge was demilitarized and shifted to civilian control.
In 1966, the X-10 graphite reactor was designated a national historic
landmark.
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Little that remains of the town of
Oak Ridge is an old hotel known as the Alexander Inn, or 'The Guest
House', which housed the residents' visitors during the time of the
project. The hotel finally closed in 1990, and since then has fallen
into terrible disrepair. Oak Ridge has largely become a ghost town.
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Mostly about my backyard chickens. (Boring, I know), but there are a lot of us out here. Mine are only kept as pampered pets. I could eat a neighbor's chicken, but not MINE. There may be a comment on current events only if I get riled up enough. And there will always be a cartoon or a joke to cheer us. I promise to try my very best to respond to comments. Now I have to figure out how this blogger thingy works....
Saturday, April 12, 2014
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The last paragraph is not correct. The current populations almost 30,000. The DOE still maintains a large facility and is one of the largest employers in the greater Knoxvile area. Their facility is also hoe to one of the largest supercomputers in the world. See the Wikipedia article.
ReplyDeleteOn a related note, Dr. Richard Feynman's autobiography "Surely Your Joking, Mr. Feynman" has some interesting personal insights of the Manhattan project. He worked at Los Alamos. Dr. Feynman was also on the Challenger accident commission and discovered the "O" ring problem that caused it. Nobel prize in physics.
Terry
Fla.
Also HOME to... Not hoe to... Stoooopid iCrap.
ReplyDeleteTerry
Fla.
Thank you so much for the correction! I shall update the article! (guess I was looking for info in the wrong place - again!) :0)
DeleteInteresting.
ReplyDeleteI like the pictures. The wrong info - not so much! So glad that Terry corrected me. It is a big town!
Delete