I am proud that Oak Ridge has a national park and that we now have a sign on the interstate encouraging people to stop and visit the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. We also have signs in the city to help tourists locate the park's visitor center. The park is 10 years old and has grown from an idea to a major influence on tourism in its three locations: Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Hanford, Washington.
For the first time this summer, Manhattan Project National Historical Park had a Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) crew to provide maintenance on waysides, cultivate the Victory Gardens, assist with park ranger programs, and preserve historic cemeteries throughout Oak Ridge. Team members Emma Cipollini, Evelyn Denson, Ifeoluwa Abiodun-Adeniyi, and Ollie Hoke joined the park crew from Oak Ridge High School.
Throughout the summer, Oak Ridge-based YCC crew members received training alongside YCC crews based out of Andrew Johnson National Historic Site, Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area, and Obed Wild & Scenic River.
The YCC is a summer employment program for boys and girls, ages 15-18, to work on projects to protect public lands. The YCC program is one that trains young people and provides outdoor work that is supervised by a trained crew leader. Participants gain valuable professional experience working on National Park Service lands and learn how to use tools, safe work habits, teamwork, and how conservation projects benefit the environment and protect cultural and historical resources For more information about the Youth Conservation Corps, please visit: https://www.nps.gov/gettinginvolved/youthprograms/ycc.htm.
The YCC crew maintained the 40-plus wayside historical markers and also cleaned tombstones in cemeteries using a professionally trained approach and proper cleaning materials. I understand the Park Service is going to provide this training to interested individuals soon.
That is a good thing as cleaning tombstones properly is important to retain the integrity of the tombstone and not damage it. Be on the lookout for details of this training if you are interested. It will be announced on the Manhattan Project National Historical Park – Oak Ridge website: https://www.nps.gov/mapr/oak-ridge.htm.
Here are the cemeteries that received attention from the YCC:
George Jones Memorial Baptist Church Cemetery, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) No. 4
Gallahar Cemetery, AEC, No. 12
Another program that has been well received is the Fishing with A Ranger program. Youth, ages 12 and younger, are invited to join the Oak Ridge unit of Manhattan Project National Historical Park for a monthly fishing education program.
This free program requires registration and space is limited. More information on the program and how to register can be found at: Fishing with a Ranger on the website.
This program was made possible with a grant from the National Park Foundation.
One of my favorite things the Park has done is to place nearly 40 wayside historical markers around the city. For some time they had a fun game going for me. They would install a wayside historical marker and let me know one had been installed, but would not tell me where or what it was about. The challenge for me was to locate the new wayside historical marker and post on Facebook that I had found it.
We had a good time with that game for months. Now, however, they have created a web page of the wayside historical markers that includes the content of the marker and its location. https://www.nps.gov/mapr/learn/photosmultimedia/oak-ridge-waysides.htm.
Recently, on April 30, (the actual anniversary date was Nov. 15, 2025 but the celebration was delayed) the 10th anniversary of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park was celebrated at the Oak Ridge Convention Center. Free admissions to the museums in Oak Ridge was included in the celebration as was a free showing of the "Oppenheimer" movie.
I well recall being asked to testify before Congress regarding the creation of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. I only got five minutes to testify. I chose to tell a story about the time I was speaking to a fourth- and fifth-grade class of students about the history of Oak Ridge.
When I had spoken for approximately 45 minutes to that class, the bell rang for the students to go to lunch. One of the students held up her hand and asked, "Mr. Smith, if we go and get our lunch and bring it back here in the classroom, will you keep on talking?" I said, "That is up to your teacher." The teacher said, "Of course, if you students want to do that, it will be fine." So they did just that and I talked for another 45 minutes.
I stressed to Congress that the young students are interested in history when it is well presented. And the National Park Service is our best national resource for presenting our history in a way that will be retained and appreciated. I am proud to have been a small part of the effort to successfully create this unique national park with three locations. It is an unusual park and I believe it is doing a good job of presenting our history to all generations.
Another program that has been well received is the Tennis Courts Dances. This is reminiscent of the dances held in 1945 during the Manhattan Project as a source of entertainment for the 75,000 residents of Oak Ridge. It is held monthly on the third Thursday evening at the Jackson Square tennis courts. It is a lot of fun and has grown to be a popular event held at 7 p.m. during the summer months from May to October. Upcoming dances are set for Aug. 20, Sept. 17, and Oct. 15.
Ranger talks, hikes, bike rides, canoe and kayak trips, and ranger presence in in A.K. Bissell Park are all exceptional activities that promote better understanding of Oak Ridge for visitors to our city. The entire city of Oak Ridge has become a part of the national park.
An event coming up on Aug. 6, at dawn, is "Days of Peace and Remembrance: marking 81 years since Hiroshima and Nagasaki." This is a solemn event where no conversation is permitted. It is held at the Oak Ridge International Friendship Bell in A. K. Bissell Park. Each person is asked to ring the bell once for whatever reason that speaks to them. After ringing the bell each bell ringer is invited to record the reason why they rang the bell.
There is also a virtual bell ringing option on the Manhattan Project National Historical Park's website: https://www.nps.gov/mapr/learn/oak-ridge-friendship-bell-ringing.htm. Read more about this event in another story.
As I hope you realize, I am proud of the Park. I believe it does exactly what I told the U.S Congress the Park Service could do so well. I am amazed at the creative ways the park rangers at Oak Ridge do their job of educating the public about Oak Ridge's history.
The facilities that have been designated by the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park are: The Graphite Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Buildings 9204-3 (Beta 3) and 9731 at Y-12; and the footprint of Building K-25 at the Heritage Center's Atomic History Campus at K-25 of the Oak Ridge Discovery Foundation.
The Alexander Guest House is also mentioned in the language that created the national park. I am proud to take tourists to visit the main lobby and view the Robert Oppenhiemer photograph made by Ed Westcott that includes the fireplace mantle. I have framed and placed that photograph on the mantle of the fireplace which Rick Dover retained when he refurbished the Alexander Inn and created the Alexander Guest House senior living center.
Very soon we will see wayside historical markers at the K-25 building footprint and flagpoles marking the corners of the footprint to show the amazing size of the K-25 building. It is my hope that we can have a laser show that will show the amazing true size of K-25, which was the largest building in the world at the time of its construction. LIS Technology, a laser enrichment company, has agreed to help us with that laser show! I am looking forward to that.
The Manhattan Project National Historical Park visitor center is located in the main lobby of the Children's Museum of Oak Ridge, 461 West Outer Drive. You can get your National Park Passport stamped there. The stamp is in three sections, one for each of the three sites, so in Oak Ridge you only get one third of the stamp.
The Children's Museum has also done an amazing job with the flattop house that was donated to them from the American Museum of Science and Energy, after it could no longer display it at AMSE. The flattop house is open now for public visits on the third Sunday of the month from 1-4 p.m.
The Park also provides photographic displays at several locations, including the Oak Ridge History Museum, the Department of Energy, and the Children's Museum. It will have more photographs in the wayside historical markers at the K-25 Building footprint soon.
If you want more information about the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, you may visit the website: https://www.nps.gov/mapr/planyourvisit/oakridge-tn.htm or just drop by the visitor center at the Children's Museum.
D. Ray Smith is the city of Oak Ridge historian. His "Historically Speaking" column is published weekly in The Oak Ridger.
This article originally appeared on Oakridger: 'Atomic history' comes alive at Oak Ridge's Manhattan Project park