Before the War:  The Elza, Robertsville, Scarboro, and Wheat Communities

Information obtained from “An Historic View of Oak Ridge,” D. Ray Smith, and ornl.gov

Of the four communities that predated Oak Ridge, only Scarboro (the new spelling) retains much of its old character (although the houses and country stores along Bethel Valley Road are gone). Scarborough Elementary School burned in the late 1920’s but it was rebuilt as a brick structure, part of which is still standing and used by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.

Also standing is the New Bethel Church across from ORNL. Church leaders were convinced that the government would tear down the church in 1942, so they voted to erect a monument to the church as their last official action. The memorial behind the church reads "Erected in Memory of New Bethel Baptist Church, Open 1851 Closed 1942...Church Building Stood 47 Feet in Front of this Stone."

However, the U.S. government let the building remain and used it for storage, meetings, and experiments. It serves today as a museum about the residents who had to move and leave their beloved land. The New Bethel Church, one of four pre-Oak Ridge churches, can be viewed on the Department of Energy Public Bus Tour that takes place each year from June through September.

Residents of Scarborough were as unhappy as the settlers in Wheat, Robertsville, and Elza about leaving their farms and land. But, as one of them said: "What do you do? The government needed your land to win the war. Who would refuse such a request as that?"

The Scarboro cemetery is still located near the ORNL complex.

Continue: Before the War II

1 | 2