Grove Center It’s hard to imagine now, but weary stagecoach travelers frequently stopped and watered their horses at the springs that now feed Oak Ridge Swimming Pool, in Robertsville, Tennessee, named after Collins Roberts, who owned and operated a general store at the present intersection of Robertsville Rd. and Raleigh Rd. (now the site of Kim Son Restaurant).  Grove Center was once at or near the center of the small farming community of Robertsville.      Mrs. Reba Holmberg and Mrs. Henrietta Wintenberg grew up in Robertsville, before the Manhattan Project came and their families had to leave.  They remember the grove of trees that gave Grove Center its name.  In fact, Mrs. Holmberg’s grandfather, James M. Jett, lived in a house by the grove.  Mrs. Holmberg commented, “I was so sad when they came in and cut it down.”     A Knoxville newspaper from 1856 mentions that a large crowd from Anderson, Morgan, and Roane Counties gathered to hear political speeches in “a beautiful grove” in Robertsville.      When the Manhattan Project came in and Oak Ridge came into being most people did their shopping at Jackson Square.  According to Johnson & Jackson in City Behind a Fence,- two additional town centers were created:  Jefferson Square and Grove Center.      The Grove Theatre showed its first movie, Hail the Conquering Hero, on September 28, 1944.  Unfortunately, the Grove Theatre was absorbed and closed by Tinseltown (Oak Ridger, 6-14-05).  It is now the home of High Places Community Church.  High Places Church kindly offers the historic theater for public use as a performing arts theater. The Grove continues to be a small but thriving shopping center, including Handley Optical, Grove Barber Shop, Patterson’s Appliances, The Ceramic Korner, Serenity In The Grove, The Hibachi Gallery,  The Original Time Out Deli, Habitat for Humanity Home Store, Peters-Starr Insurance and many others. Made with Xara © ORRE 2010