Ocoee Dam No. 1

Location

Ocoee No. 1 is located approximately 12 mi upstream from the mouth of the Ocoee, in an area where the river emerges from its winding trek through the Appalachian Mountains and enters the Tennessee Valley. The community of Parksville is located on the north side of the dam, and Chattanooga is roughly 30 mi to the west. The Ocoee Scenic Byway—part of U.S. Route 64—passes just north of the dam. Parksville Lake extends for several miles eastward up the Ocoee and several miles southward up Baker Creek, which once emptied into the Ocoee just upstream from the dam. Ocoee Dam No. 2 is located just over 12 mi upstream from Ocoee No. 1.

Capacity

The dam is 135 ft high and 840 ft long and has a generating capacity of 24,000 kilowatts, up from an original 19,200 kilowatts after being refurbished in 1989-91. Parksville Lake has 109 mi of shoreline, and the lake's water levels fluctuate by about 9 ft per year.

History

The rapid growth of industry in Chattanooga in the late 19th century and early 20th century brought an increasing demand for electricity, and the rapid-flowing Ocoee River—which passes through a gorge in the mountains 30 mi east of the city—was considered a prime candidate for hydroelectric power by the region's early electric companies. In 1910, the C.M. Clark Company, an electrical transportation holding firm, formed the Eastern Tennessee Power Company to build two hydroelectric dams on the Ocoee and market their electricity output primarily to Chattanooga. Work on Ocoee Dam No. 1 began later that year and was completed in late December 1911. On January 27, 1912, the dam's four units began commercial operation. A fifth unit was added in 1914. The five units provided a total capacity of 18 MW. Power was distributed primarily to Chattanooga and also to Knoxville, Nashville, and Rome, Georgia, as well as the aluminum industries in Alcoa. A coal burning station known as the Parksville Steam Plant was built adjacent to the dam in 1916 to provide generation during periods of low water flow. It was last used in 1954.

In 1922, the Eastern Tennessee Power Company and several other entities merged to form the Tennessee Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which overhauled the dam in the 1930s. In 1933, the TVA Act created the Tennessee Valley Authority and gave the Authority oversight of the Tennessee River watershed, which includes the Ocoee River. The head of TEPCO, Jo Conn Guild, was vehemently opposed to the creation of TVA, and with the help of attorney Wendell Willkie challenged the constitutionality of the TVA Act in federal court. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the TVA Act, however, in its 1939 decision Tennessee Electric Power Company v. TVA. On August 16, 1939, TEPCO was forced to sell its assets to TVA for $78 million (equivalent to $ in ), which included $2.68 million (equivalent to $ in ) for Ocoee Dam No. 1.

References

References

1. Tennessee Valley Authority, [http://www.tva.gov/sites/parksville.htm Parksville Reservoir]. Retrieved: 21 January 2009.
2. The concrete gravity arched spillway has a maximum discharge of {{convert. 45,000. cuft/s
3. James B. Jones, Jr. [https://www.tntech.edu/wrc/DuckRiverManual/PRE__TVA.pdf Towards an Understanding of the History and Material Culture of Pre-TVA Hydroelectric Development in Tennessee, 1900-1933] {{Webarchive. link. (June 16, 2025 . Retrieved: 22 January 2009. PDF.)
4. Sitton, Bill. (September 1, 2012). "Hydro Hall of Fame: Ocoee Dam No. 1: A Legacy of Progress".
5. Tennessee Valley Authority, ''Design of TVA Projects Volume 3: Mechanical Design of Hydro Plants'', Technical Report No. 24 (Washington, D.C.: Tennessee Valley Authority, 1952), pp. 302-304.
6. James B. Jones, "[http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=1369 TEPCO]. ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2009. Retrieved: 11 February 2013.
7. Timothy Ezzell, "[http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=579 Jo Conn Guild]." ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2009. Retrieved: 11 February 2013.