The Luther Brannon House was a stone

bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a b ...

structure at 151 Oak Ridge Turnpike in

Oak Ridge, Tennessee Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of downtown Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 31,402 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Knoxville Metropolitan Area. Oak ...

, United States, where it was one of the few buildings remaining from before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The house was built in 1941 by Owen Hackworth and just months later was acquired by the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

for the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...

.National Register of Historic Places nomination formarchive.org copy
It was one of about 180 existing structures that were spared from demolition after the area was acquired for Manhattan Project production activities. The house is believed to have been used as headquarters for local project operations and living quarters for General

Leslie Groves Lieutenant General Leslie Richard Groves Jr. (17 August 1896 – 13 July 1970) was a United States Army Corps of Engineers officer who oversaw the construction of the Pentagon and directed the Manhattan Project, a top secret research project ...

until the Army completed construction of new administration buildings.Ask Incky
, ''The Oak Ridger'', May 9, 2001 After the war, when most other remaining pre-war structures in Oak Ridge were torn down, the house was left standing. As of 1991, it was one of only three pre-World War II houses remaining in Oak Ridge, the others being Freels Cabin and the J. B. Jones House. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

due to its association with General Groves and the early development of Oak Ridge. The house suffered significant damage from a fire in July 2014. As of April 2020, the fire damage still had not been repaired, and the property was listed for sale. As of February 2021, the house has been demolished, and was removed from the National Register in October 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brannon, Luther, House Houses completed in 1941 Houses in Anderson County, Tennessee Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee Oak Ridge, Tennessee National Register of Historic Places in Anderson County, Tennessee