DOE-Oakridge (1961). Overall View of Oak Ridge Pool DOE Photo by Ed Westcott Oak Ridge Tennessee July 1961. https://www.flickr.com/photos/doe-oakridge Accessed 10 January 2024. Public domain.

In the summer of 2021, after more than a year of quarantine and masks and “safer at home,” we fled. We packed up Stickers, our trusty van, and hit the road for another of our many wild rides. But where would we go? With the Canadian border finally open, we desperately needed to see my husband’s family in Northern Ontario, yet we also had hoped to travel to the Gulf Coast with my parents to visit my old childhood haunts. We had the time, so we did both, adding 3,452 miles to our odometer. Because that route makes sense, right? You may think we’re nuts, but we like nuts. They make life tastier. 

We didn’t take the easy route either. On our way south from the Great White North, we exited I-75 and meandered into Oak Ridge, Tennessee, a.k.a the “Secret City.” Why? A massive historic pool lurks there, hidden from my consciousness until a fellow swimmer just happened upon it during her travels, and I just happened to see her post. I’m sorry that I don’t remember who made that post, but I am forever grateful to her, because Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool is a unique treasure. And it is endangered. 

A few words about the significance of Oak Ridge: As you may know from last summer’s blockbuster Oppenheimer, Oak Ridge is one of three rural municipalities that became the clandestine home to the Manhattan Project, in which the US government raced against, and beat, Nazi Germany in the development and usage of atomic weapons. The whole thing had to remain under wraps despite the thousands of workers involved, so the powers that be selected isolated areas. Then, because the project needed so much human-power, those communities exploded in population. Therefore, infrastructure as well as gathering places were necessary, like schools, hospitals, theaters, and parks. In this context, in 1944, the US Army Corps of Engineers built Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool from a spring-fed cow pond that had long been a watering hole for travelers and a water source for moonshiners. That first year, swimmers experienced natural surroundings, as the concrete pool walls and floor were not completed until 1945. During that time, pool chemicals were added via rowboat! 

FIN FACT: Although about 7000 Manhattan Project workers were African-American, that sizable segment of the local population was prohibited from swimming at Oak Ridge until it was desegregated in 1955. Since then, it has been open for everyone to enjoy.

How can one not love “The Big Pool,” as locals call it? This nickname hugely understates its enormity. The numbers surely will astound you. With 2.2 million gallons of water, six 100 meter lanes, six 25 meter lanes, and a diving well 13.5 feet in depth, no wonder it is the largest spring-fed pool in the Southeast. In fact, from what I could determine, as of 2024, Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool appears to be the second largest spring-fed pool in the world. Only Balmorhea State Park is larger, but its deeper areas are natural mud and rock. So it appears that Oak Ridge wins gold for being the largest spring-fed pool in the world with a full concrete floor! 

FIN FACT: Upon its completion, locals knew that The Big Pool was one of the biggest, but the “Secret City” didn’t publicly claim any distinction about size, perhaps because the federal government still enforced secrecy!

DOE-Oakridge (1947). Friends at Swimming Pool 1947 Oak Ridge 3604-b DOE photo Ed Westcott 6-6-1947 Oak Ridge Tennessee. https://www.flickr.com/photos/doe-oakridge/26149666676/in/album-72157669181025573/ Accessed 14 January 2024. Public Domain.

On to the swim! I can’t think of many better ways to celebrate freedom than to leap gleefully into this behemoth body of water!  Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool is like clear open water, but with lanes, diving boards, and a beach entry! From the moment I arrived, I was in heaven. The Tennessee summer sun had brought the air temp to 94F. People of all ages with colorful suits and floats dotted the cool sparkling blue water like tropical fish. I’d missed the scheduled lap swim time. However, not to be deterred from this amazing opportunity to swim 100 meter laps, I took the plunge, lifting my head to sight occasionally, and dodging swimmers and floaties as I followed the longest black line I’d ever seen. Quite a difference from my regular 18.3 yard indoor pool! My watch, a Fenix S5, got a bit confused and only logged 1000 of my 3000 meter swim!

Given this set-up, it’s no surprise that the Big Pool hosts the Secret City Sprint Triathlon in June. Oh, how I hope to participate someday, but will it be possible?

As you see, Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool is a jewel with significant historical and current value, bringing fitness opportunities and joy to so many over the generations. 

However, I fear for this pool’s future. Renovated in 1992-1993, it is again in need of major structural and mechanical repairs, and its continued operation as a giant 100 meter pool is in question as the city council debates plans for the site. All potential plans include a pool of some sort, but almost all would entail significant changes to the pool footprint. 

In its current form, the Big Pool is one-of-a-kind and something to be celebrated. But although I communicate with many swimmers from around the world, very few seem to know about it.

In my opinion, Oak Ridge should be a swim-cation destination for distance swimmers.

Maybe the knowledge void is a lingering effect of the secrecy described above, even almost 80 years later. I’d like the Big Pool to be known, loved, protected, and fixed. Funding is necessary, and publicity can help, so go swim there if you can and share pics of your happy times! And see below for resources on protecting historic places!

FIN FACT: Here are the numbers, so you can once again be agog:
     – 2.2 million gallons
     - Six 100 meter lanes
     - Six 25 meter lanes
     - 0 to 13.5 feet deep