Community Swimming Pool

The Oak Ridge Community Swimming pool has remained popular since the Manhattan Project.

NPS/KLEIN

Quick Facts

Location:

Oak Ridge, TN

MANAGED BY:

Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks

Amenities

2 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Parking - Auto

Life in the secret city of Oak Ridge was stressful, even by wartime standards. Tens of thousands of workers lived in a secret community with limited access to the outside world. The lack of sidewalks and constant construction meant that Oak Ridge residents regularly slogged through mud. They could not tell their new friends about their top-secret work.  To counter these stressors, Manhattan Project administrators created a host of recreational facilities for workers to relax in. Six decades after the Manhattan Project, Oak Ridge chemist Virginia Coleman fondly remembered “All these things that we had to keep us happy during the war”, especially the Oak Ridge Community Swimming Pool. 

Prior to its construction in 1945, the site of the community swimming pool featured a small, spring-fed pond called Cross Pond. This watering hole provided water for people and livestock as they began settling middle-Tennessee in the 19th century. During the Manhattan Project prior to the swimming pool’s construction, many workers in the new secret city used the pond to cool off during the summer months. The 58,630 square foot (5446.9 sq meters) swimming pool holds approximately 2.2 million gallons (8,327,905.9 liters) of water, making it one of the largest spring-fed swimming pools in the United States.  

For White workers, the community swimming pool provided much needed respite from the daily grind of top-secret atomic weapons development. Segregation during World War II prevented Black workers and their families from enjoying facilities such as this pool and other community centers throughout Oak Ridge. After working long hours at top-secret uranium separating facilities, White Manhattan Project workers would often come here to relax in the sun and enjoy the cool water.  

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In Oak Ridge, community centers like Jackson Square and Grove Center provided white residents with an escape from the daily grind, as did recreational facilities like the tennis courts. 

The pool, located across from Grove Center, is open during the summer months. Many residents of Oak Ridge enjoy the pool to this day.