Chapel on the Hill

The Chapel on the Hill welcomed worshipers from all walks of life during the Manhattan Project.

NPS/KLEIN

Quick Facts

Location:

Oak Ridge, TN

Significance:

First Church Constructed in Oak Ridge

Designation:

National Register of Historic Places

OPEN TO PUBLIC:

No

MANAGED BY:

United Church

Amenities

2 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Parking - Auto

Imagine living and working in Oak Ridge during World War II. Outside of the typical day-to-day stresses, you have to adjust to life inside a secret city during wartime America. How would you seek peace and solitude? Where would you go to reflect or worship? 

Oak Ridge had no churches or designated sacred spaces in the early days of the Manhattan Project. Congregants gathered in theaters, schools, and cafeterias to hold religious services. Local civilian leaders requested Manhattan Project administrators provide a dedicated place of worship as a way of developing a more defined sense of community. The Chapel on the Hill fulfilled that need.

Completed in October 1943, this standard military 700-series chapel was one of three military chapels constructed at Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project. A Baptist minister named the chapel “Chapel on a Hill” during a prayer of dedication on September 30, 1943. Like many other Manhattan Project buildings, this 700-series chapel was intended to only last for the duration of World War II. Congregants could sit on the main floor as well as above the chapel entrance. The Chapel on the Hill provided people with a space to hold religious services and weddings, as well as community events. After World War II, worshipers added stained glass to the front of the building. 

Many congregations worshiped at the Chapel on the Hill during the Manhattan Project era from Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, and Jewish faiths. Worshipers were not only separated by denomination; they were also segregated by race. Tennessee’s Jim Crow laws required African American and white congregants be segregated while in Oak Ridge’s places of worship. Due to the demand on the Chapel, congregations had at least 200 members. The Catholics held the majority, followed by the Baptists and Methodists. The Chapel on the Hill did not have the capacity to host all the congregations’ services and events, so worship services and events continued to be held in school gymnasiums and auditoriums, theaters, and recreation halls. The Army avoided showing favoritism by denying all church congregations space for their churches.

Continue Your Journey

The United Church, a non-denominational congregation, purchased the Chapel in 1955 and continues services to this day. Over 4,000 weddings were performed here in the chapel’s first 50 years. The Chapel on the Hill was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991 as part of the Oak Ridge Historic District. The Chapel on the Hill is located directly behind the Guest House (Alexander Inn) and has limited availability for visitation and special events outside of worship services and hours. For more information please contact the church.