In 1918, the Army Corps of Engineers began building what would become the world's largest hydroelectric facility.

The Tennessee Valley Authority acquired it on May 18, 1933—the same day President Roosevelt signed the act establishing the federal agency.

Chattanooga's Connection

Ralph H. Kelley, Chattanooga's 56th mayor, served from 1963–1969. His name was written on the back of a 46-inch-wide framed panoramic photo of the Wilson Dam that was donated by his daughter, Ellen Kelley.

While not ‘Chattanooga History’ specifically – its source and connection to the history of public power, and the TVA, make it a worthwhile presentation here.

A Dam for the People

Wilson Dam was built for WWI, but the war ended before it could spin up its turbines. After years spent in limbo, the dam gained new purpose with the founding of TVA.
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Cirkut Camera Panorama View

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Source: Ellen Kelley / Ralph H. Kelley Collection

The enormous project involved 18,000 workers and over 1,700 temporary buildings, 236 permanent buildings, 185 residential units, 165 miles of sewage pipeline, and 685 miles of electrical cabling. The settlement's mess halls served over 20,000 meals a day, and it also contained a school with capacity for 850 students, three barbershops, and a hospital.

It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1966, for its role as the first dam to come under the TVA's administration.

Senator George Norris, a key supporter of public power, blocked Henry Ford’s offer to purchase & complete the dam in 1921.

Wilson: Facts & Figures Source: TVA

Construction of Wilson Dam began in 1918 and was completed in 1924.
The dam is 137 feet high and stretches 4,541 feet across the Tennessee River.
Wilson Dam is a hydroelectric facility. It has 21 generating units with a summer net dependable capacity of 653 megawatts. Net dependable capacity is the amount of power a dam can produce on an average day minus the electricity used by the dam itself.
Wilson is the largest conventional hydroelectric facility in the TVA system. Only Raccoon Mountain Pumped-Storage Plant near Chattanooga can generate more hydroelectric power.
Wilson Reservoir provides 166 miles of shoreline and 15,500 acres of water surface for recreation.
The main lock at Wilson is 110-by-600 feet. With a maximum lift of 100 feet, it is the highest single-lift lock east of the Rockies. An auxiliary lock has two 60-by-300-foot chambers that operate in tandem.
On average, 3,700 vessels pass through Wilson's locks each year.
Wilson has a flood-storage capacity of 50,500 acre-feet.