Recommended to visit in the area of Knoxville, TN is a nearby city that was created to develop the atomic bomb used in WWII.  The Manhattan Project was a massive wartime effort, including a highly secured area of operations and a large  recruited workforce.  The purpose of it’s construction was kept top secret from even those engaged in the work of research and development.The city ultimately became Oak Ridge.

 

The Oak Ridge area formed out of a community of about 3,000 to a planned city of 13,000 to a peak fifth largest city in Tennessee at 75,000 to a current population of about 28,000.  The government obtained the 59,000 acres by displacing the nearly 3,000 people living in the area.

Three plants were constructed to provide development and production of the different stages of the bombs creation.  Various forms of housing were provided to support the needs of the wartime workers.

 

Infrastructure was rapidly added to provide quality of life and life essentials.  There were stores, theaters, bowling alleys, churches, medical facilities, and nearly anything to reduce the need for residents to go elsewhere and raise suspicions.

A visit to the American Museum of Science & Energy delivers a collection of displays documenting the significance of the area, the rise of the city, and the current life after decommissioning most of the city.  It covers the technical, political, and logistical aspects of the bombs development.  These were the most riveting of the exhibits to me.

 

The museum also has other displays of each form of energy used throughout our country and the world.  For $4 per senior it was a good value.

-LA