The Manhattan Project at Oak Ridge

Photographs of Ed Westcott, 1942-46

Abstract

The photographs of Ed Westcott, a civilian hired to document the Manhattan
Project at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, are a valuable educational resource for school children
as well as scholars. During the war years, Westcott was the official government
documentarian of the construction and operation of Oak Ridge as well as photojournalist
for the local newspaper. His photographs, which are a cultural and historical record of
that unique time and place, have been published in numerous books on the history of the
Manhattan Project. This study is based on historical documentation as well as a lecture
by and interviews with Westcott.