Event
Secrecy, Security, & Spies [Oak Ridge, TN]
Fee:
Free.Location: LAT/LONG: 35.980210, -84.334408
Oak Ridge Turnpike Checking Station 2900 Oak Ridge Turnpike Oak Ridge, TN 37830 Parking is available onsite. If the lot is full, additional parking may be found at the East Quarry Trailhead .3 miles south.
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Description
Post-war Oak Ridge earned the moniker of America’s Secret City. Join a ranger talk inside the Turnpike Checking Station to learn about the security apparatus that wartime residents lived and worked under, and the few who tried to subvert it.
This program takes place in the historic Oak Ridge Turnpike Checking Station as space allows. If a larger group than can safely meet in the Checking Station attends the program, the talk will take place outside with an opportunity to view the historic building in smaller groups.
Location Information: The Oak Ridge Turnpike Checking Station replaced a war-time checking station that was used for the Manhattan Project. Security at government installations at Oak Ridge was, and remains, a paramount concern. Following the purchase of the reservation in 1942, the entire perimeter was cordoned off with a barbed wire fence and seven entry points were established. At each one of these were guarded gates to identify personnel and residents entering Oak Ridge. There were three additional checking stations constructed to monitor traffic between the townsite and the three plant sites. The Oak Ridge Turnpike Checking Station controlled access into the K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant and is representative of the security conditions of Oak Ridge in the post-war years. The Oak Ridge Turnpike Checking Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
Reservation or Registration: No
Image Gallery
US Department of Energy/Ed Westcott