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Oak Ridge, Tennessee
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<p>Oak Ridge is a city in <a href="/facts/Anderson_County%2c_Tennessee/xq56xjnr">Anderson</a> and <a href="/facts/Roane_County%2c_Tennessee/hmP8tA3w">Roane</a> counties in the <a href="/facts/East_Tennessee/Bn9oSGJP">eastern part</a> of the <a href="/facts/U.S._state/PFwcRIYQ">U.S. state</a> of <a href="/facts/Tennessee/A3mLY9bu">Tennessee</a>, about 25 miles (40 km) west of downtown <a href="/facts/Knoxville%2c_Tennessee/TMrk0YGV">Knoxville</a>. Oak Ridge's population was 31,402 at the 2020 census. It is part of the <a href="/facts/Knoxville_Metropolitan_Area/6xePE9vx">Knoxville Metropolitan Area</a>. Oak Ridge's nicknames include <i>the Atomic City</i>, <i>the Secret City</i>, and <i>the City Behind a Fence</i>. </p><p>In 1942, the United States federal government forcibly purchased nearly 60,000 acres (240 km2) of farmland in the <a href="/facts/Clinch_River/o8a4Wfm4">Clinch River</a> valley for the development of a <a href="/facts/Planned_community/Lasw19Pu">planned city</a> supporting 75,000 residents. It was constructed with assistance from architectural and engineering firm <a href="/facts/Skidmore%2c_Owings_%2526_Merrill/nzd6KsqJ">Skidmore, Owings & Merrill</a>, from 1942 to 1943. Oak Ridge was established in 1942 as a production site for the <a href="/facts/Manhattan_Project/gtg8yRK2">Manhattan Project</a>—the massive American, British, and Canadian operation that developed the <a href="/facts/Nuclear_weapon/QVdBcMdm">atomic bomb</a>. Being the site of <a href="/facts/Oak_Ridge_National_Laboratory/Elq84HKF">Oak Ridge National Laboratory</a>, <a href="/facts/Y-12_National_Security_Complex/zQ2xgTdJ">Y-12 National Security Complex</a>, and several private nuclear and scientific facilities, scientific and technological development still plays a crucial role in the city's economy and culture in general. In 2016, the element <a href="/facts/Tennessine/eGCBDvEr">tennessine</a> was named for Tennessee, in recognition of the role played by Oak Ridge and other institutions in the state in its discovery. </p>