About the town » Oak Ridge, Anderson County, Tennessee, United States

Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about 25 miles west of Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 29,330 at the 2010 census. The portion of the city located in Anderson County is included in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area, while the portion located in Roane County is included in the Harriman, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area; both of these areas are components of the Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette, TN Combined Statistical Area. Oak Ridge's nicknames include the Atomic City, the Secret City, the Ridge, and the City Behind the Fence. Oak Ridge was established in 1942 as a production site for the Manhattan Project—the massive U.S. , U.K. and Canadian operation that developed the atomic bomb. Scientific development still plays a crucial role in the city's economy and culture in general.