The Secret City

Born in war, Oak Ridge is the “Secret City” with a big story to tell.

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, the city of Oak Ridge didn’t even exist. In an effort to end the war, the U.S. government purchased rural farmland in 1942 and rapidly built the city of Oak Ridge, which would play a pivotal role in the Manhattan Project. Just two and a half years later, the Secret City skyrocketed to a population of 75,000, making it the fifth-largest city in Tennessee at the time

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Calutron Girls of Oak Ridge

Photography by Ed Westcott

Explore our History

Video Archive

CALUTRON GIRLS

The Calutron Girls were a group of young women, mostly high school graduates who joined the World War II efforts in Oak Ridge in 1945. Although they were not allowed to know at the time, they were monitoring dials and watching meters for a calutron, a mass spectrometer that separates uranium isotopes. The enriched uranium was used to make the first atomic bomb. Watch this video to learn more about their fascinating story.

OAK RIDGE: THE SECRET CITY

In this video, author Denise Kiernan (Girls of the Atomic City) shares five things you might not have known about The Manhattan Project’s Secret City.

THE OAK RIDGE STORY

It was the greatest industrial project in the history of the world, and its outcome was the most significant event of the 20th century. From 1942 – 1946, the United States Government conducted a classified operation known as the Manhattan Project.

OAK RIDGE HISTORY MUSEUM

The Oak Ridge History Museum is a place where you can come and experience the Manhattan era of Oak Ridge! Learn what people were like and how they lived.

EXPLORE OAK RIDGE'S MUSEUMS

Oak Ridge is home to four museums and you can visit them all on your next visit to the Secret City. Be sure to visit the American Museum of Science and Energy, the K-25 History Museum, The Oak Ridge History Museum, and the Oak Ridge Children’s Museum.

AMSE Virtual Tour

Want to take a virtual tour of the American Museum of Science and Energy? Watch this video to take a virtual look inside one of Oak Ridge’s biggest attractions.

Oak Ridge Children's Museum

The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge is a unique and educational resource, providing children of East Tennessee with the opportunity to learn while playing-to create, discover, solve, and experience, within non-traditional, interactive exhibit galleries.

In the Days of Mud

Around World War II, the quickly constructed Secret City was blanketed in a thick layer of mud. Learn more about Oak Ridge’s days of mud, a Special Exhibit by the National Park Service at the K-25 History Center in Oak Ridge, TN.

Click the orange boxes to see additional videos.

CALUTRON GIRLS

OAK RIDGE: THE SECRET CITY

THE OAK RIDGE STORY

OAK RIDGE HISTORY MUSEUM

EXPLORE OAK RIDGE'S MUSEUMS

AMSE Virtual Tour

Oak Ridge Children's Museum

In the Days of Mud

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