Last updated: March 13, 2025
Place
Oak Ridge Wayside: Cedar Hill School
NPS
Quick Facts
Amenities
1 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
Subtitle
Childhood Within a Secret City
Main Text
White children in America’s Secret City had to contend with the everyday challenges of childhood, from scraped knees to learning their ABCs, while living under the secrecy of a highly classified military project. They would learn about the war in movies, newspapers, and newsreels while passing military personnel on the street and at each of the gates into Oak Ridge. While their parents moved here for higher paying war work, the brand-new school district and organized play filled much of Oak Ridge children’s lives. Beyond lessons and school days, playground attendants would organize sports, games, and competitions in local schoolyards and parks, keeping children active even if all caregivers were working.
One of those schools, Cedar Hill Elementary School, once stood in the park before you. Classes started here in October 1943. Cedar Hill was identical to nearby Pine Valley School—now the Oak Ridge School Administration building on New York Avenue—and shared architectural plans with many of the schools in Oak Ridge, all built rapidly to support the new war town. Filled with students from the surrounding neighborhoods, Cedar Hill enrollment grew quickly from 340 to over 500 pupils over the course of World War II. While these opportunities were available to White children during the war, Black children were not permitted in Oak Ridge until 1945. The Scarboro School, a segregated Black school serving 1st through 8th grades, opened in 1946 about 1.5 miles from the Black hutments.
Exhibit Panel Description
A black and white exhibit panel on a black frame approximately four feet tall. The panel has a black band at the top and a title underneath that reads "Cedar Hill School: Childhood Within a Secret City." The center of the panel includes a black and white aerial photo of an L-Shaped elementary school in a neighborhood. The text of the panel is located at the bottom.
Visit this Exhibit Panel
This wayside is located along the perimeter of Cedar Hill Park, Moylan Ln. Oak Ridge, TN 37830.
Childhood Within a Secret City
Main Text
White children in America’s Secret City had to contend with the everyday challenges of childhood, from scraped knees to learning their ABCs, while living under the secrecy of a highly classified military project. They would learn about the war in movies, newspapers, and newsreels while passing military personnel on the street and at each of the gates into Oak Ridge. While their parents moved here for higher paying war work, the brand-new school district and organized play filled much of Oak Ridge children’s lives. Beyond lessons and school days, playground attendants would organize sports, games, and competitions in local schoolyards and parks, keeping children active even if all caregivers were working.
One of those schools, Cedar Hill Elementary School, once stood in the park before you. Classes started here in October 1943. Cedar Hill was identical to nearby Pine Valley School—now the Oak Ridge School Administration building on New York Avenue—and shared architectural plans with many of the schools in Oak Ridge, all built rapidly to support the new war town. Filled with students from the surrounding neighborhoods, Cedar Hill enrollment grew quickly from 340 to over 500 pupils over the course of World War II. While these opportunities were available to White children during the war, Black children were not permitted in Oak Ridge until 1945. The Scarboro School, a segregated Black school serving 1st through 8th grades, opened in 1946 about 1.5 miles from the Black hutments.
Exhibit Panel Description
A black and white exhibit panel on a black frame approximately four feet tall. The panel has a black band at the top and a title underneath that reads "Cedar Hill School: Childhood Within a Secret City." The center of the panel includes a black and white aerial photo of an L-Shaped elementary school in a neighborhood. The text of the panel is located at the bottom.
Visit this Exhibit Panel
This wayside is located along the perimeter of Cedar Hill Park, Moylan Ln. Oak Ridge, TN 37830.