AN EYE TOWARDS HISTORY
About ORHPA
The Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association (ORHPA) is a nonprofit historical society founded in 1999 to preserve and educate the public about Oak Ridge’s unique and rich technical and cultural history, and to work to preserve selected historical buildings of the WWII city and nuclear installations.
Oak Ridge was the most costly part of the Manhattan Project and its greatest gamble. Three large and different plants, first of their kind anywhere, consumed 89% of the Oak Ridge effort, each built in the hopes we could learn to enrich uranium-235 and beat Nazi Germany to the bomb. In addition, the world’s first plutonium production reactor for research was also built here.
Honoring Ed Westcott, Photographer of the Manhattan Project
The Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association has commissioned a statue honoring Ed Westcott, the official photographer for the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge. Westcott’s extraordinary images documented a pivotal moment in world history, capturing the people, places, and spirit of a top-secret city that played a crucial role in ending World War II. His work remains one of the most important visual records of the atomic age. This statue will serve as a lasting tribute to his legacy and to the power of photography to preserve our shared history.
Your donation will help make this memorial possible and ensure that future generations recognize the man behind the lens.
PROTECTING THE LEGACY
The Oak Ridge
History Museum
THE ORHM IS CURRENTLY OPEN
TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY 10-4 AND SATURDAY 10-3.
The Oak Ridge History Museum shines a light on the “human side” of the Manhattan Project, focusing on history and people’s day-to-day lives during World War II in Oak Ridge.
LEARN MORE →
Admission
Adult
Military/Veterans
Students
Under 12
Group Rate
ACKNOWLEDGING ACHIEVEMENT
Preservation
Awards
ORHPA awards a Historic Preservation Award annually. The award is given to a public-use facility that reflects guide-lines outlined for historic preservation in the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archaeology and Historic Preservation.
2023
Old
Towne
Inn
2022
Railroad Maintenance Building
2021
Eric's
Diner/
Magic Wok
You Asked, We Listened
The Oak Ridge History Museum, 102 Robertsville Rd., Oak Ridge, is proud to announce the addition of another weekday to...
2024 Heritage Award – Jefferson Compounding & Soda Fountain
The Oak Ridge Heritage & Preservation Association (ORHPA) has selected Jefferson Compounding & Soda Fountain for its 2024 Historic Preservation...
ORHPA Highlights for 2023
These highlights begin with a big Thank You to the volunteers that keep our organization going, especially the Oak Ridge...
Hutment Exhibit Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
The Oak Ridge History Museum is thrilled to announce the opening of its new Hutment Exhibit, which promises to transport...
ORHPA Membership Meeting with guest speaker Zach Foster
Please join us for an ORHPA Membership meeting Thursday, Feb 16, at 7pm. Our guest speaker is Zach Foster, Archivist...
ORHPA 2022 Highlights and Message from Mick
Greetings! A New Year is under way and indications are that it will be a good one. Our membership is...
ORHPA Annual Meeting
Please plan to attend our Annual Meeting on Thursday, Dec 8, at 6:00 pm. Our first order of business will...
Legends Behind the Plate
Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association (ORHPA) celebrates Legends Behind the Plate. On Thursday, November 10, 2022, beginning at 6:30...
80th Anniversary of the Manhattan Project Celebration
The Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association (ORHPA) and the Scarboro Community Alumni Committee are pleased to invite the community...
ORHPA Membership Meeting with guest speaker Martin Miller
**Due to technical difficulties on the 17th, this event has been moved to the 24th. We hope you will join...
ORHPA Highlights of 2021
As we begin to plan for 2022 it is good to first review the past year. Given it was another...
ORPHA 2020 Highlights
Happy New Year everyone! This past year was unique for sure. The Covid-19 virus caused many closures and changes in...
Ed Wescott Passes Away
It is with a heavy heart that ORHPA announces the death of James Edward Westcott on March 29, 2019..