Watts Bar Dam

[3] Watts Bar Dam is located approximately 530 miles (850 km) upstream from the mouth of the Tennessee River, roughly halfway between Knoxville and Chattanooga.

Just north of the dam, the Tennessee absorbs the Piney River, which flows down from the Cumberland Plateau to the west.

Watts Bar provides 722 miles (1,162 km) of shoreline and over 39,090 acres (15,820 ha) of water surface.

In 1936, the Tennessee Valley Authority assumed direction of the site as part of its unified strategy to build (and acquire) a series of dams along the Tennessee River to improve navigation and flood control, and aide in the region's economic development.

An earthen dike was built to protect downtown Kingston from the reservoir's backwaters, and minor adjustments were necessary to the riverfronts of Spring City, Harriman, Wheat, and Loudon.

TVA's design plan for Watts Bar Dam, circa 1939
Workers test a turbine shaft at Watts Bar, June 1942
Earl M. Qualls, car dumper operator at Watts Bar, in June 1942.
Earl M. Qualls, car dumper operator at Watts Bar, in June 1942. This image was distributed by the Office of War information to demonstrate the importance of the dam's electricity as well as the contribution of African-Americans to the war effort.