Oak Ridge dates to 1942, and 10 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns · #119 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Most of Oak Ridge was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1965. 10 places in town are on the National Register, among them the X-10 Reactor, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 4,336 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1936 on, and the census since 1960.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1832.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Oak Ridge’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oak Ridge is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #119 of 177 in Tennessee. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oak Ridge’s overall grade.
Tennessee towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Tennessee town has 6.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Oak Ridge’s 1,330 sits above most of its state (100% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 4,348 historic buildings outnumber those of 100% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1942.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Oak Ridge’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
The earliest substantial occupation of the Oak Ridge area occurred during the Woodland period (c. 1000 BC – 1000), although artifacts dating to the Paleo-Indian period have been found throughout the Clinch River valley. Two Woodland mound sites—the Crawford Farm Mounds and the Freels Farm Mounds—were uncovered in the 1930s as part of the Norris Basin salvage excavations. Both sites were just southeast of the former Scarboro community. The Bull Bluff site, which was occupied during the Woodland and Mississippian (c. 1000–1600) periods, was uncovered in the 1960s in anticipation of the construction of Melton Hill Dam. Bull Bluff is a cliff immediately southeast of Haw Ridge, opposite Melton Hill Park.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1942, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Oak Ridge’s post office opened in 1832, and the census of 1960 counted 27,169 people here.
How does Oak Ridge rank for history?
Oak Ridge is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #119 of 177 in Tennessee. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Oak Ridge?
10 listings: 7 buildings, 2 historic districts, the Oak Ridge Historic District and the Woodland-Scarboro Historic District, with 4,336 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 4,348 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Oak Ridge?
1% of Oak Ridge’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1965.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (10), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
★ Landmark
c. 1930
c. 1930
c. 1930
c. 1930
