[1] It is one of two dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

[3] Wilbur Dam is a concrete gravity overflow dam 77 feet (23 m) high and 375 feet (114 m) long, and has a generating capacity of 10,700 kilowatts.

[4][5] The dam's spillway has four radial gates with a combined discharge of 34,000 cubic feet per second (960 m3/s).

In 1927, the dam was purchased by the Tennessee Central Service Company, which changed its name to East Tennessee Light & Power Company two years later.

The flood of August 1940 overtopped the dam and destroyed its powerhouse, and five years later, East Tennessee Light & Power sold its assets, including Wilbur Dam, to the Tennessee Valley Authority.