The Manhattan Project consumed the town and its community. 60,000 acres of the ridges and valleys were set aside for the project thanks to their close proximity to the new dam at Norris, TN. 3,000 citizens of Scarboro, New Hope, Robertsville, Elza, and Wheat, TN were given an eviction notice in order to support the war effort.
Three facilities were built, each with a different way to separate the isotopes of uranium, one of which was the largest building in the world under a single roof. The facilities required so much energy that he consumption was 20% higher than that of New York City, about one-seventh of all the electricity produced in the United States.
The secret city existed for seven years, growing to 75,000 people but never showing up on a map. Today, Oak Ridge thrives as a scientific hub and home to one of the fastest computers in the world. A facility continued to provide the separated isotopes for nuclear projects until 1985.
