Displaying items by tag: clark e center

Clark Center Park swimming area.  Ben Pounds/Hellbender Press

Major effort needed to secure co-funding from local area

The state budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026 gives the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation $10 million to establish a state park at Clark Center Park, a 40-acre area owned by the Department of Energy and currently open to the public as a park.

Named for Clark E. Center, the Manhattan Project’s Superintendent of the K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant and holder of ID badge #1, this park includes a swimming area on Melton Hill Lake with a sandy beach. It features many picnic tables with grills, a boat ramp, two ball fields, two volleyball nets and a paved surface with basketball hoops. Wooded hiking trails include ones giving access to fishing areas. It also serves as the trailhead to the Gallaher Bend Greenway, which is a separate area.

The caveat

The Tennessee budget states the area can only become a state park if Anderson County, the county in which this area is located, provides $6,250,000 in matching funds before June 30, 2031. Substantial funding is required to replace the aged amenities of the park and provide the level of facilities that meet state park standards while accommodating more visitors.

“Clark Center Park is a hidden gem,” said Virginia Dale, board member and past president of Advocates for the Oak Ridge Reservation (AFORR). The nonprofit group is dedicated to conservation and preservation of the reservation’s unique assets for future generations.