Welcome to a history project to preserve the memory of homes that were removed to build Oak Ridge
Tennessee. In 1942 more than 900 families were displaced from 56,000 acres in Roane and Anderson
Counties. Photographs were taken by Corps of Engineers as the War Department took the property
for demolition to build facilities that would become known as Oak Ridge. This Secret Project would
bring an end to World War II as the atomic bomb was developed. Very few lives in East Tennessee
have not been touched by this historic event. It is my intent to retrieve and make available to the public
these photos from the National Archives. These photos displayed here are of the original homes and
farm buildings that once existed on the Oak Ridge Reservation. As they have been removed and no
longer can be seen or visited I take great pleasure to present them here.
If your family or ancestors lived in this area there will probably be photos available for them. Some
names of the 1942 properties had previously belonged to others who moved from the area before
1942. If your family lived there we wish to document more history and stories connected with them.
Please contact me to help trace this information and location of their property.
The name Kingston Demolition Range was the first name given to the Top Secret Project. After
removal of the residents it was changed to Clinton Engineering Works and finally the enigmatic
MANHATTAN PROJECT. After the War the area was named Oak Ridge for the city where
Scientists and Engineers lived behind the fence with security and secrecy predominant.
The names of the Scarbrough, Elza, Robertsville, Wheat, and others have been wiped from the map and nearly lost to the memory of the present generation. The communities once existed on the site of what is now Oak Ridge, K-25, Y-12, X-10 and the newest Nuetron Spallation Project. There are many folks around who still remember these communities and a few who actually lived there. I am very grateful to those who have helped me in this endeavor including Flossie Raby, Gladys Raby Hunt, Louise Freels Reid, Lucille Hackworth Farmer, James Brennan and many others too numerous to name. Pellissippi Genealogical and Historical Society is sponsoring this work. I also recognize Robertsville Reunion, DOE Photographer Lynn Freeney and Bob Presley at Y-12. I am thankful to have their encouragement and have been blessed to hear about life in Scarboro. Thanks to Reid Gryder, whose technical expertise made this website possible sooner rather than later. Thanks to all my family for their present and future patience to see this done.
The photos posted on this site are available as prints in two sizes: 5x7 $5 and 8x10 $8 Orders for more than 5 photos will receive 10% discount. These are permanent high quality photographic prints.
Please contact me by email kingstondemolitionrange@att.net for more information. Please include the name, number and description from the photo list for the items you want.
There are plans to retrieve all the photos within the next year. About 200 are now available for the area from Solway Bridge to Scarboro School identified as Section "E". These 200 photos are only a small portion of the thousands of images to be made available. Watch for developments and return for latest changes and additions.
Thanks for visiting
Donald E Raby Knoxville TN