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This year the historic building committee of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association is proud to select Dean’s Restaurant and Bakery as our 2025 Historic Preservation Award recipient. The owner, Dean Russell is a seasoned restaurateur who has worked in and owned many different restaurants over the years.  Dean’s opened in June of 2012 in the old Jackson Square Pharmacy location. The restaurant was a hit from the very beginning. In a respectful nod to history, the walls [...]

The Oak Ridge Heritage & Preservation Association (ORHPA) has selected Jefferson Compounding & Soda Fountain for its 2024 Historic Preservation Award. The Award is a way to recognize the maintenance and preservation of historic structures in Oak Ridge. Owners Jack Greene and his wife, Connie, began working in the store in 1971 and are much loved by the community. Many locals and visitors come to Jefferson to enjoy its unique offerings of compounded [...]

These highlights begin with a big Thank You to the volunteers that keep our organization going, especially the Oak Ridge History Museum.  We remain an all-volunteer group, and I continue to hear many compliments on what a tremendous job we have done forming a first-class museum. Our first program for the year for the ORHPA membership included guest speaker Zach Foster, Anderson County Historian who spoke about life in this area in the [...]

Greetings!  A New Year is under way and indications are that it will be a good one.  Our membership is stronger than ever, over 250, and I’ve noticed newcomers and others often ask what kind of activities we are involved in, so I hope these highlights will help inform everyone.  It was noticed that during 2022 there were fewer Zoom meetings and more willingness to meet in person, hopefully the new year will [...]

Happy New Year everyone! This past year was unique for sure. The Covid-19 virus caused many closures and changes in plans, including tempo-rary closure of our Oak Ridge History Museum.

It is with a heavy heart that ORHPA announces the death of James Edward Westcott on March 29, 2019..