An Article by Roadtrippers.com on the Secret City

“‘I’m sitting on a shuttle, surrounded by octogenarian couples from around the country. The bus is being driven by a former employee of the government site we’re touring, spilling stories about what went on here. I sit by myself, feeling like a spy from a John le Carré novel as I scribble secrets into my notebook.

‘Are you working on a school project?’ one of the fellow visitors asks over my shoulder.

‘Not exactly,’ I mumble, unsure of just how much information to divulge.

A late-night internet research hole brought me to a story about Oak Ridge. The Tennessee town was a part of the Manhattan Project, the secret American operation to create the atomic bomb. I’d passed the highway exit for the area many times in my years of traveling to the Great Smoky Mountains without giving it a second thought. So, when I found out there was exactly one spot left for the last tour of the year, I booked it and made the 200-mile drive from Atlanta. ”

To read more of the article, The Secret City: Touring a rural Tennessee community that went from making atomic bombs to rocket fuel click HERE.