Robertsville, Tennessee
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Robertsville was a farming community in
Anderson County, Tennessee Anderson County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in the northern part of the state in East Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 77,123. Its county seat ...
, that was disbanded in 1942 when the area was acquired for the
Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...
. Its site is now part of the city of
Oak Ridge, Tennessee Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson County, Tennessee, Anderson and Roane County, Tennessee, Roane counties in the East Tennessee, eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, Knoxville. Oak Ridge's po ...
. Robertsville was established in 1804 by a merchant named Collins Roberts, who received a
land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...
., National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form, July 1991. Section E, pages 3-4. The community was located on the Old Emory Coach Road, and a natural spring in Robertsville called Cross Spring was a rest stop where travelers on that road could water and rest their horses. During the 19th century, Robertsville was the site of a slave block; during the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, however, community residents generally supported the Union cause. Notable residents included Swiss-German immigrant Henry Sienknecht, a
Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...
physician who practiced medicine in Robertsville for several decades after the Civil War before moving in 1890 to Oliver Springs, where he operated a store. The community existed until 1942, when the United States government acquired the land as a part of the Manhattan Project. The residents of Robertsville were displaced, along with the residents of several other communities. Robertsville is now in the residential and commercial portion of the city of Oak Ridge. The present Robertsville Middle School is located on the site of the old Robertsville High School, which was built in about 1915. The high school gymnasium was retained to become the middle school's gym.ORNL: The First 50 Years - Chapter 1: Wartime Laboratory
, ''ORNL Review'', Vol. 25, Nos. 3 and 4 (1992)
Collins Roberts is buried in the Robertsville Baptist Cemetery. In the 1930s Cross Spring was dammed by a local farmer to form a small lake that the Army Corps of Engineers lined with concrete during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
to convert it into a large swimming pool. The site of the lake is still the location of Oak Ridge's outdoor municipal swimming pool.


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Elza, Tennessee Elza was a community in Anderson County, Tennessee, that existed before 1942, when the area was acquired for the Manhattan Project. Its site is now part of the city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. History Elza formed around a flagstop on the Louisville ...
{{coord, 36, 00, 49, N, 84, 16, 28, W, type:city_region:US-TN_source:GNIS-enwiki, display=title Oak Ridge, Tennessee Geography of Anderson County, Tennessee Populated places disestablished in 1942 Populated places established in 1804