[3] The academy is located in the town of Oak Ridge, North Carolina, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

Oak Ridge offers extracurriculars that mainly focus on physical activity and military strategy.

Oak Ridge was established in 1852 by local families in the surrounding community, some of them associated with the Society of Friends (Quakers).

The school traces its origins to April 7, 1850, when forty-three local citizens of the northwestern Guilford County community "desirous of promoting the cause of education" contributed a total of $629 for the construction of a new schoolhouse.

[4][5] Oak Ridge Institute opened on March 3, 1853, with a classical curriculum of 18 courses and 63 students from North Carolina and Virginia.

The American Civil War closed the school from 1862 to 1866, all except four of the eligible-aged students (probably about 100) enlisting or conscripted into Southern units.

After a devastating fire that destroyed the main schoolhouse and the Chapel on January 14, 1914, Whitaker rebuilt Oak Ridge into a military academy.

[4][5] From 1929 to 1967, Oak Ridge included a junior college program, in addition to the high school curriculum.

By 1981, all students, male and female, were required to participate in JROTC, and the school name was changed to Oak Ridge Military Academy.

[8] Since 1972, Oak Ridge has been a private, coeducational, college-preparatory military boarding school (with a limited day student enrollment, mostly from the local community).

Oak Ridge is the official military school of North Carolina, as designated by the state legislature in 1991.

Located on campus is Alumni Hall, a two-story, multi-purpose building that was designed by C. Will Armfield and built in 1914.

The building was built in 1905 in the Mission Style and was named to honor the longtime chairman of the board of Oak Ridge, Jesse Benbow.