CHATTANOOGA REGIONAL HISTORY MUSEUM

CHATTANOOGA, TN

Little Debbie Park in Chattanooga, TN
Little Debbie Park in Chattanooga, TN Credit: Peter Ciro Photography

The Chattanooga Regional History Museum is located in the vibrant city of Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is a place of learning, exploration, and reflection on the history of Chattanooga and the surrounding areas. The museum features permanent exhibits, interactive displays, and rotating temporary exhibits.

The permanent exhibits focus on the history of Chattanooga and the surrounding areas from the Native Americans through the present day. The exhibits explore the city’s natural environment, history of immigration and industry, and culture and entertainment. Visitors can learn about the history of the city through artifacts, photographs, and interactive displays.

The museum also hosts a variety of educational programs and events throughout the year. These include lectures, walking tours, special events, and traveling exhibits. The museum also runs a volunteer program, allowing people to get involved in the museum’s mission of understanding and preserving the history of the region.

The Chattanooga Regional History Museum is a great way to explore the history of the region and to learn more about the vibrant city of Chattanooga. It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm, and admission is free.

CHATTANOOGA REGIONAL HISTORY MUSEUM is a History Museum in CHATTANOOGA TN. US MID #8404700274

The museum is classed as HST (History Museums). It comes under American Alliance of Museums (AAM) region: Southeastern (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia). Total revenue from most recent IRS 990 Form: $ 1,205,420 from tax period 201305 (YYYYMM).

Little Debbie Park in Chattanooga, TN
Little Debbie Park in Chattanooga, TN
Little Debbie Park in Chattanooga, TN
Little Debbie Park in Chattanooga, TN
Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse, Hales Bar Road, Haletown, TN Built in 1905-1913 as part of the Hales Bar Dam Hydroelectric Power Plant and designed by John Bogart, this Classical Revival and Modern building housed the turbine hall of the power station, and was the first impoundment to be built along the Tennessee River. Built near the mouth of the Tennessee River Gorge about 32 miles downriver of Chattanooga, the dam was constructed for the Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company, and stood 113 feet (34 meters) tall and was 2,315 feet (706 meters) long, and eventually reached a generating capacity of 99,700 kilowatts. The dam developed some significant issues from the start due to its location on porous bedrock, leading to the William J. Oliver and Company facing significant hurdles during construction. The dam almost immediately developed a significant leak through the bedrock beneath the structure, which was addressed in 1919 by pumping hot asphalt into the bedrock and foundation, sealing the rock and stopping the leakage for some time. However, this was not the end of the dam’s woes, and more leaks appeared, being once again noticeable by 1931. Upon the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in 1933, the agency began to attempt to acquire the dam and powerhouse, which were owned at the time by the Tennessee Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the result of the merger of the Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company with other electric utilities. TEPCO resisted the TVA’s attempts to acquire the dam, leading to the supreme court case Tennessee Electric Power Company vs. TVA, which upheld the 1933 TVA Act. Later that same year, TEPCO was forced to sell its assets to the Tennessee Valley Authority, including the Hales Bar Dam. Upon acquiring the dam in 1939, the Tennessee Valley Authority undertook several significant improvements, including repairing the dam’s foundation to once again halt the leakage of water, which was completed in 1943. In 1949, the dam’s powerhouse received a modern addition, adding four additional turbines, and radial spill gates were added to the dam, deepening the reservoir and extending the length of the navigable channel to the base of the Chickamauga Dam upstream of Chattanooga. However, by the late 1950s, signs of leakage under the dam once again appeared. In the early 1960s, the increase in shipping traffic on the river led to a feasibility study of expanding the lock at Hales Bar Dam, which dated back to the 1910s, but the study found the prospect of improving the lock, alongside necessary repairs to the dam’s foundation, to be infeasibly expensive. In 1963, it was decided by the TVA to replace the dam, the oldest in the TVA system, with a new dam built on more solid bedrock 6 miles downstream. Between 1963 and 1967, the 81 foot (25 meter) tall and 3,767 foot (1,148 meter) long Nickajack Dam was constructed across the Tennessee River, replacing the Hales Bar Dam. Upon the new dam’s inauguration in 1967, operations ceased at Hales Bar, and the old powerhouse was stripped of all modern equipment, leaving behind only the structure and equipment that dated to the period before TVA ownership of the dam. By the fall of 1968, most of Hales Bar Dam was demolished to create an unobstructed river channel on the new Nickajack Lake, which provided a navigation channel upriver through Chattanooga to Chickamauga Dam. The filling of the Nickajack Reservoir led to the inundation of the lower levels of the Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse, which remain submerged today, still holding parts of the power station’s old turbines and equipment. The Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. The old powerhouse, after being abandoned in 1967, was sold into private ownership, eventually becoming surrounded by a marina built on the new Nickajack Lake. The powerhouse has been repurposed as a private event space with guided tours and annual haunted house events. The old Hales Bar Dam Lock still stands on the opposite side of the lake, now partially inundated, serving as a visual indicator of the former location of the dam. The former powerhouse is a monument to one of the earliest attempts to turn the Tennessee River into a source of hydroelectric power, as well as a shipping channel, which, under the guidance of the Tennessee Valley Authority later in the 20th Century, led the region to grow from an underdeveloped agrarian economic backwater into a developed industrial powerhouse.
Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse, Hales Bar Road, Haletown, TN Built in 1905-1913 as part of the Hales Bar Dam Hydroelectric Power Plant and designed by John Bogart, this Classical Revival and Modern building housed the turbine hall of the power station, and was the first impoundment to be built along the Tennessee River. Built near the mouth of the Tennessee River Gorge about 32 miles downriver of Chattanooga, the dam was constructed for the Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company, and stood 113 feet (34 meters) tall and was 2,315 feet (706 meters) long, and eventually reached a generating capacity of 99,700 kilowatts. The dam developed some significant issues from the start due to its location on porous bedrock, leading to the William J. Oliver and Company facing significant hurdles during construction. The dam almost immediately developed a significant leak through the bedrock beneath the structure, which was addressed in 1919 by pumping hot asphalt into the bedrock and foundation, sealing the rock and stopping the leakage for some time. However, this was not the end of the dam’s woes, and more leaks appeared, being once again noticeable by 1931. Upon the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in 1933, the agency began to attempt to acquire the dam and powerhouse, which were owned at the time by the Tennessee Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the result of the merger of the Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company with other electric utilities. TEPCO resisted the TVA’s attempts to acquire the dam, leading to the supreme court case Tennessee Electric Power Company vs. TVA, which upheld the 1933 TVA Act. Later that same year, TEPCO was forced to sell its assets to the Tennessee Valley Authority, including the Hales Bar Dam. Upon acquiring the dam in 1939, the Tennessee Valley Authority undertook several significant improvements, including repairing the dam’s foundation to once again halt the leakage of water, which was completed in 1943. In 1949, the dam’s powerhouse received a modern addition, adding four additional turbines, and radial spill gates were added to the dam, deepening the reservoir and extending the length of the navigable channel to the base of the Chickamauga Dam upstream of Chattanooga. However, by the late 1950s, signs of leakage under the dam once again appeared. In the early 1960s, the increase in shipping traffic on the river led to a feasibility study of expanding the lock at Hales Bar Dam, which dated back to the 1910s, but the study found the prospect of improving the lock, alongside necessary repairs to the dam’s foundation, to be infeasibly expensive. In 1963, it was decided by the TVA to replace the dam, the oldest in the TVA system, with a new dam built on more solid bedrock 6 miles downstream. Between 1963 and 1967, the 81 foot (25 meter) tall and 3,767 foot (1,148 meter) long Nickajack Dam was constructed across the Tennessee River, replacing the Hales Bar Dam. Upon the new dam’s inauguration in 1967, operations ceased at Hales Bar, and the old powerhouse was stripped of all modern equipment, leaving behind only the structure and equipment that dated to the period before TVA ownership of the dam. By the fall of 1968, most of Hales Bar Dam was demolished to create an unobstructed river channel on the new Nickajack Lake, which provided a navigation channel upriver through Chattanooga to Chickamauga Dam. The filling of the Nickajack Reservoir led to the inundation of the lower levels of the Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse, which remain submerged today, still holding parts of the power station’s old turbines and equipment. The Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. The old powerhouse, after being abandoned in 1967, was sold into private ownership, eventually becoming surrounded by a marina built on the new Nickajack Lake. The powerhouse has been repurposed as a private event space with guided tours and annual haunted house events. The old Hales Bar Dam Lock still stands on the opposite side of the lake, now partially inundated, serving as a visual indicator of the former location of the dam. The former powerhouse is a monument to one of the earliest attempts to turn the Tennessee River into a source of hydroelectric power, as well as a shipping channel, which, under the guidance of the Tennessee Valley Authority later in the 20th Century, led the region to grow from an underdeveloped agrarian economic backwater into a developed industrial powerhouse.
Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse, Hales Bar Road, Haletown, TN Built in 1905-1913 as part of the Hales Bar Dam Hydroelectric Power Plant and designed by John Bogart, this Classical Revival and Modern building housed the turbine hall of the power station, and was the first impoundment to be built along the Tennessee River. Built near the mouth of the Tennessee River Gorge about 32 miles downriver of Chattanooga, the dam was constructed for the Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company, and stood 113 feet (34 meters) tall and was 2,315 feet (706 meters) long, and eventually reached a generating capacity of 99,700 kilowatts. The dam developed some significant issues from the start due to its location on porous bedrock, leading to the William J. Oliver and Company facing significant hurdles during construction. The dam almost immediately developed a significant leak through the bedrock beneath the structure, which was addressed in 1919 by pumping hot asphalt into the bedrock and foundation, sealing the rock and stopping the leakage for some time. However, this was not the end of the dam’s woes, and more leaks appeared, being once again noticeable by 1931. Upon the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in 1933, the agency began to attempt to acquire the dam and powerhouse, which were owned at the time by the Tennessee Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the result of the merger of the Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company with other electric utilities. TEPCO resisted the TVA’s attempts to acquire the dam, leading to the supreme court case Tennessee Electric Power Company vs. TVA, which upheld the 1933 TVA Act. Later that same year, TEPCO was forced to sell its assets to the Tennessee Valley Authority, including the Hales Bar Dam. Upon acquiring the dam in 1939, the Tennessee Valley Authority undertook several significant improvements, including repairing the dam’s foundation to once again halt the leakage of water, which was completed in 1943. In 1949, the dam’s powerhouse received a modern addition, adding four additional turbines, and radial spill gates were added to the dam, deepening the reservoir and extending the length of the navigable channel to the base of the Chickamauga Dam upstream of Chattanooga. However, by the late 1950s, signs of leakage under the dam once again appeared. In the early 1960s, the increase in shipping traffic on the river led to a feasibility study of expanding the lock at Hales Bar Dam, which dated back to the 1910s, but the study found the prospect of improving the lock, alongside necessary repairs to the dam’s foundation, to be infeasibly expensive. In 1963, it was decided by the TVA to replace the dam, the oldest in the TVA system, with a new dam built on more solid bedrock 6 miles downstream. Between 1963 and 1967, the 81 foot (25 meter) tall and 3,767 foot (1,148 meter) long Nickajack Dam was constructed across the Tennessee River, replacing the Hales Bar Dam. Upon the new dam’s inauguration in 1967, operations ceased at Hales Bar, and the old powerhouse was stripped of all modern equipment, leaving behind only the structure and equipment that dated to the period before TVA ownership of the dam. By the fall of 1968, most of Hales Bar Dam was demolished to create an unobstructed river channel on the new Nickajack Lake, which provided a navigation channel upriver through Chattanooga to Chickamauga Dam. The filling of the Nickajack Reservoir led to the inundation of the lower levels of the Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse, which remain submerged today, still holding parts of the power station’s old turbines and equipment. The Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. The old powerhouse, after being abandoned in 1967, was sold into private ownership, eventually becoming surrounded by a marina built on the new Nickajack Lake. The powerhouse has been repurposed as a private event space with guided tours and annual haunted house events. The old Hales Bar Dam Lock still stands on the opposite side of the lake, now partially inundated, serving as a visual indicator of the former location of the dam. The former powerhouse is a monument to one of the earliest attempts to turn the Tennessee River into a source of hydroelectric power, as well as a shipping channel, which, under the guidance of the Tennessee Valley Authority later in the 20th Century, led the region to grow from an underdeveloped agrarian economic backwater into a developed industrial powerhouse.
Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse, Hales Bar Road, Haletown, TN Built in 1905-1913 as part of the Hales Bar Dam Hydroelectric Power Plant and designed by John Bogart, this Classical Revival and Modern building housed the turbine hall of the power station, and was the first impoundment to be built along the Tennessee River. Built near the mouth of the Tennessee River Gorge about 32 miles downriver of Chattanooga, the dam was constructed for the Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company, and stood 113 feet (34 meters) tall and was 2,315 feet (706 meters) long, and eventually reached a generating capacity of 99,700 kilowatts. The dam developed some significant issues from the start due to its location on porous bedrock, leading to the William J. Oliver and Company facing significant hurdles during construction. The dam almost immediately developed a significant leak through the bedrock beneath the structure, which was addressed in 1919 by pumping hot asphalt into the bedrock and foundation, sealing the rock and stopping the leakage for some time. However, this was not the end of the dam’s woes, and more leaks appeared, being once again noticeable by 1931. Upon the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in 1933, the agency began to attempt to acquire the dam and powerhouse, which were owned at the time by the Tennessee Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the result of the merger of the Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company with other electric utilities. TEPCO resisted the TVA’s attempts to acquire the dam, leading to the supreme court case Tennessee Electric Power Company vs. TVA, which upheld the 1933 TVA Act. Later that same year, TEPCO was forced to sell its assets to the Tennessee Valley Authority, including the Hales Bar Dam. Upon acquiring the dam in 1939, the Tennessee Valley Authority undertook several significant improvements, including repairing the dam’s foundation to once again halt the leakage of water, which was completed in 1943. In 1949, the dam’s powerhouse received a modern addition, adding four additional turbines, and radial spill gates were added to the dam, deepening the reservoir and extending the length of the navigable channel to the base of the Chickamauga Dam upstream of Chattanooga. However, by the late 1950s, signs of leakage under the dam once again appeared. In the early 1960s, the increase in shipping traffic on the river led to a feasibility study of expanding the lock at Hales Bar Dam, which dated back to the 1910s, but the study found the prospect of improving the lock, alongside necessary repairs to the dam’s foundation, to be infeasibly expensive. In 1963, it was decided by the TVA to replace the dam, the oldest in the TVA system, with a new dam built on more solid bedrock 6 miles downstream. Between 1963 and 1967, the 81 foot (25 meter) tall and 3,767 foot (1,148 meter) long Nickajack Dam was constructed across the Tennessee River, replacing the Hales Bar Dam. Upon the new dam’s inauguration in 1967, operations ceased at Hales Bar, and the old powerhouse was stripped of all modern equipment, leaving behind only the structure and equipment that dated to the period before TVA ownership of the dam. By the fall of 1968, most of Hales Bar Dam was demolished to create an unobstructed river channel on the new Nickajack Lake, which provided a navigation channel upriver through Chattanooga to Chickamauga Dam. The filling of the Nickajack Reservoir led to the inundation of the lower levels of the Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse, which remain submerged today, still holding parts of the power station’s old turbines and equipment. The Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. The old powerhouse, after being abandoned in 1967, was sold into private ownership, eventually becoming surrounded by a marina built on the new Nickajack Lake. The powerhouse has been repurposed as a private event space with guided tours and annual haunted house events. The old Hales Bar Dam Lock still stands on the opposite side of the lake, now partially inundated, serving as a visual indicator of the former location of the dam. The former powerhouse is a monument to one of the earliest attempts to turn the Tennessee River into a source of hydroelectric power, as well as a shipping channel, which, under the guidance of the Tennessee Valley Authority later in the 20th Century, led the region to grow from an underdeveloped agrarian economic backwater into a developed industrial powerhouse.
Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse, Hales Bar Road, Haletown, TN Built in 1905-1913 as part of the Hales Bar Dam Hydroelectric Power Plant and designed by John Bogart, this Classical Revival and Modern building housed the turbine hall of the power station, and was the first impoundment to be built along the Tennessee River. Built near the mouth of the Tennessee River Gorge about 32 miles downriver of Chattanooga, the dam was constructed for the Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company, and stood 113 feet (34 meters) tall and was 2,315 feet (706 meters) long, and eventually reached a generating capacity of 99,700 kilowatts. The dam developed some significant issues from the start due to its location on porous bedrock, leading to the William J. Oliver and Company facing significant hurdles during construction. The dam almost immediately developed a significant leak through the bedrock beneath the structure, which was addressed in 1919 by pumping hot asphalt into the bedrock and foundation, sealing the rock and stopping the leakage for some time. However, this was not the end of the dam’s woes, and more leaks appeared, being once again noticeable by 1931. Upon the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in 1933, the agency began to attempt to acquire the dam and powerhouse, which were owned at the time by the Tennessee Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the result of the merger of the Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company with other electric utilities. TEPCO resisted the TVA’s attempts to acquire the dam, leading to the supreme court case Tennessee Electric Power Company vs. TVA, which upheld the 1933 TVA Act. Later that same year, TEPCO was forced to sell its assets to the Tennessee Valley Authority, including the Hales Bar Dam. Upon acquiring the dam in 1939, the Tennessee Valley Authority undertook several significant improvements, including repairing the dam’s foundation to once again halt the leakage of water, which was completed in 1943. In 1949, the dam’s powerhouse received a modern addition, adding four additional turbines, and radial spill gates were added to the dam, deepening the reservoir and extending the length of the navigable channel to the base of the Chickamauga Dam upstream of Chattanooga. However, by the late 1950s, signs of leakage under the dam once again appeared. In the early 1960s, the increase in shipping traffic on the river led to a feasibility study of expanding the lock at Hales Bar Dam, which dated back to the 1910s, but the study found the prospect of improving the lock, alongside necessary repairs to the dam’s foundation, to be infeasibly expensive. In 1963, it was decided by the TVA to replace the dam, the oldest in the TVA system, with a new dam built on more solid bedrock 6 miles downstream. Between 1963 and 1967, the 81 foot (25 meter) tall and 3,767 foot (1,148 meter) long Nickajack Dam was constructed across the Tennessee River, replacing the Hales Bar Dam. Upon the new dam’s inauguration in 1967, operations ceased at Hales Bar, and the old powerhouse was stripped of all modern equipment, leaving behind only the structure and equipment that dated to the period before TVA ownership of the dam. By the fall of 1968, most of Hales Bar Dam was demolished to create an unobstructed river channel on the new Nickajack Lake, which provided a navigation channel upriver through Chattanooga to Chickamauga Dam. The filling of the Nickajack Reservoir led to the inundation of the lower levels of the Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse, which remain submerged today, still holding parts of the power station’s old turbines and equipment. The Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. The old powerhouse, after being abandoned in 1967, was sold into private ownership, eventually becoming surrounded by a marina built on the new Nickajack Lake. The powerhouse has been repurposed as a private event space with guided tours and annual haunted house events. The old Hales Bar Dam Lock still stands on the opposite side of the lake, now partially inundated, serving as a visual indicator of the former location of the dam. The former powerhouse is a monument to one of the earliest attempts to turn the Tennessee River into a source of hydroelectric power, as well as a shipping channel, which, under the guidance of the Tennessee Valley Authority later in the 20th Century, led the region to grow from an underdeveloped agrarian economic backwater into a developed industrial powerhouse.
Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse, Hales Bar Road, Haletown, TN Built in 1905-1913 as part of the Hales Bar Dam Hydroelectric Power Plant and designed by John Bogart, this Classical Revival and Modern building housed the turbine hall of the power station, and was the first impoundment to be built along the Tennessee River. Built near the mouth of the Tennessee River Gorge about 32 miles downriver of Chattanooga, the dam was constructed for the Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company, and stood 113 feet (34 meters) tall and was 2,315 feet (706 meters) long, and eventually reached a generating capacity of 99,700 kilowatts. The dam developed some significant issues from the start due to its location on porous bedrock, leading to the William J. Oliver and Company facing significant hurdles during construction. The dam almost immediately developed a significant leak through the bedrock beneath the structure, which was addressed in 1919 by pumping hot asphalt into the bedrock and foundation, sealing the rock and stopping the leakage for some time. However, this was not the end of the dam’s woes, and more leaks appeared, being once again noticeable by 1931. Upon the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in 1933, the agency began to attempt to acquire the dam and powerhouse, which were owned at the time by the Tennessee Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the result of the merger of the Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company with other electric utilities. TEPCO resisted the TVA’s attempts to acquire the dam, leading to the supreme court case Tennessee Electric Power Company vs. TVA, which upheld the 1933 TVA Act. Later that same year, TEPCO was forced to sell its assets to the Tennessee Valley Authority, including the Hales Bar Dam. Upon acquiring the dam in 1939, the Tennessee Valley Authority undertook several significant improvements, including repairing the dam’s foundation to once again halt the leakage of water, which was completed in 1943. In 1949, the dam’s powerhouse received a modern addition, adding four additional turbines, and radial spill gates were added to the dam, deepening the reservoir and extending the length of the navigable channel to the base of the Chickamauga Dam upstream of Chattanooga. However, by the late 1950s, signs of leakage under the dam once again appeared. In the early 1960s, the increase in shipping traffic on the river led to a feasibility study of expanding the lock at Hales Bar Dam, which dated back to the 1910s, but the study found the prospect of improving the lock, alongside necessary repairs to the dam’s foundation, to be infeasibly expensive. In 1963, it was decided by the TVA to replace the dam, the oldest in the TVA system, with a new dam built on more solid bedrock 6 miles downstream. Between 1963 and 1967, the 81 foot (25 meter) tall and 3,767 foot (1,148 meter) long Nickajack Dam was constructed across the Tennessee River, replacing the Hales Bar Dam. Upon the new dam’s inauguration in 1967, operations ceased at Hales Bar, and the old powerhouse was stripped of all modern equipment, leaving behind only the structure and equipment that dated to the period before TVA ownership of the dam. By the fall of 1968, most of Hales Bar Dam was demolished to create an unobstructed river channel on the new Nickajack Lake, which provided a navigation channel upriver through Chattanooga to Chickamauga Dam. The filling of the Nickajack Reservoir led to the inundation of the lower levels of the Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse, which remain submerged today, still holding parts of the power station’s old turbines and equipment. The Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. The old powerhouse, after being abandoned in 1967, was sold into private ownership, eventually becoming surrounded by a marina built on the new Nickajack Lake. The powerhouse has been repurposed as a private event space with guided tours and annual haunted house events. The old Hales Bar Dam Lock still stands on the opposite side of the lake, now partially inundated, serving as a visual indicator of the former location of the dam. The former powerhouse is a monument to one of the earliest attempts to turn the Tennessee River into a source of hydroelectric power, as well as a shipping channel, which, under the guidance of the Tennessee Valley Authority later in the 20th Century, led the region to grow from an underdeveloped agrarian economic backwater into a developed industrial powerhouse.
Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse, Hales Bar Road, Haletown, TN Built in 1905-1913 as part of the Hales Bar Dam Hydroelectric Power Plant and designed by John Bogart, this Classical Revival and Modern building housed the turbine hall of the power station, and was the first impoundment to be built along the Tennessee River. Built near the mouth of the Tennessee River Gorge about 32 miles downriver of Chattanooga, the dam was constructed for the Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company, and stood 113 feet (34 meters) tall and was 2,315 feet (706 meters) long, and eventually reached a generating capacity of 99,700 kilowatts. The dam developed some significant issues from the start due to its location on porous bedrock, leading to the William J. Oliver and Company facing significant hurdles during construction. The dam almost immediately developed a significant leak through the bedrock beneath the structure, which was addressed in 1919 by pumping hot asphalt into the bedrock and foundation, sealing the rock and stopping the leakage for some time. However, this was not the end of the dam’s woes, and more leaks appeared, being once again noticeable by 1931. Upon the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in 1933, the agency began to attempt to acquire the dam and powerhouse, which were owned at the time by the Tennessee Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the result of the merger of the Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company with other electric utilities. TEPCO resisted the TVA’s attempts to acquire the dam, leading to the supreme court case Tennessee Electric Power Company vs. TVA, which upheld the 1933 TVA Act. Later that same year, TEPCO was forced to sell its assets to the Tennessee Valley Authority, including the Hales Bar Dam. Upon acquiring the dam in 1939, the Tennessee Valley Authority undertook several significant improvements, including repairing the dam’s foundation to once again halt the leakage of water, which was completed in 1943. In 1949, the dam’s powerhouse received a modern addition, adding four additional turbines, and radial spill gates were added to the dam, deepening the reservoir and extending the length of the navigable channel to the base of the Chickamauga Dam upstream of Chattanooga. However, by the late 1950s, signs of leakage under the dam once again appeared. In the early 1960s, the increase in shipping traffic on the river led to a feasibility study of expanding the lock at Hales Bar Dam, which dated back to the 1910s, but the study found the prospect of improving the lock, alongside necessary repairs to the dam’s foundation, to be infeasibly expensive. In 1963, it was decided by the TVA to replace the dam, the oldest in the TVA system, with a new dam built on more solid bedrock 6 miles downstream. Between 1963 and 1967, the 81 foot (25 meter) tall and 3,767 foot (1,148 meter) long Nickajack Dam was constructed across the Tennessee River, replacing the Hales Bar Dam. Upon the new dam’s inauguration in 1967, operations ceased at Hales Bar, and the old powerhouse was stripped of all modern equipment, leaving behind only the structure and equipment that dated to the period before TVA ownership of the dam. By the fall of 1968, most of Hales Bar Dam was demolished to create an unobstructed river channel on the new Nickajack Lake, which provided a navigation channel upriver through Chattanooga to Chickamauga Dam. The filling of the Nickajack Reservoir led to the inundation of the lower levels of the Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse, which remain submerged today, still holding parts of the power station’s old turbines and equipment. The Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. The old powerhouse, after being abandoned in 1967, was sold into private ownership, eventually becoming surrounded by a marina built on the new Nickajack Lake. The powerhouse has been repurposed as a private event space with guided tours and annual haunted house events. The old Hales Bar Dam Lock still stands on the opposite side of the lake, now partially inundated, serving as a visual indicator of the former location of the dam. The former powerhouse is a monument to one of the earliest attempts to turn the Tennessee River into a source of hydroelectric power, as well as a shipping channel, which, under the guidance of the Tennessee Valley Authority later in the 20th Century, led the region to grow from an underdeveloped agrarian economic backwater into a developed industrial powerhouse.
Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse, Hales Bar Road, Haletown, TN Built in 1905-1913 as part of the Hales Bar Dam Hydroelectric Power Plant and designed by John Bogart, this Classical Revival and Modern building housed the turbine hall of the power station, and was the first impoundment to be built along the Tennessee River. Built near the mouth of the Tennessee River Gorge about 32 miles downriver of Chattanooga, the dam was constructed for the Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company, and stood 113 feet (34 meters) tall and was 2,315 feet (706 meters) long, and eventually reached a generating capacity of 99,700 kilowatts. The dam developed some significant issues from the start due to its location on porous bedrock, leading to the William J. Oliver and Company facing significant hurdles during construction. The dam almost immediately developed a significant leak through the bedrock beneath the structure, which was addressed in 1919 by pumping hot asphalt into the bedrock and foundation, sealing the rock and stopping the leakage for some time. However, this was not the end of the dam’s woes, and more leaks appeared, being once again noticeable by 1931. Upon the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in 1933, the agency began to attempt to acquire the dam and powerhouse, which were owned at the time by the Tennessee Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the result of the merger of the Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company with other electric utilities. TEPCO resisted the TVA’s attempts to acquire the dam, leading to the supreme court case Tennessee Electric Power Company vs. TVA, which upheld the 1933 TVA Act. Later that same year, TEPCO was forced to sell its assets to the Tennessee Valley Authority, including the Hales Bar Dam. Upon acquiring the dam in 1939, the Tennessee Valley Authority undertook several significant improvements, including repairing the dam’s foundation to once again halt the leakage of water, which was completed in 1943. In 1949, the dam’s powerhouse received a modern addition, adding four additional turbines, and radial spill gates were added to the dam, deepening the reservoir and extending the length of the navigable channel to the base of the Chickamauga Dam upstream of Chattanooga. However, by the late 1950s, signs of leakage under the dam once again appeared. In the early 1960s, the increase in shipping traffic on the river led to a feasibility study of expanding the lock at Hales Bar Dam, which dated back to the 1910s, but the study found the prospect of improving the lock, alongside necessary repairs to the dam’s foundation, to be infeasibly expensive. In 1963, it was decided by the TVA to replace the dam, the oldest in the TVA system, with a new dam built on more solid bedrock 6 miles downstream. Between 1963 and 1967, the 81 foot (25 meter) tall and 3,767 foot (1,148 meter) long Nickajack Dam was constructed across the Tennessee River, replacing the Hales Bar Dam. Upon the new dam’s inauguration in 1967, operations ceased at Hales Bar, and the old powerhouse was stripped of all modern equipment, leaving behind only the structure and equipment that dated to the period before TVA ownership of the dam. By the fall of 1968, most of Hales Bar Dam was demolished to create an unobstructed river channel on the new Nickajack Lake, which provided a navigation channel upriver through Chattanooga to Chickamauga Dam. The filling of the Nickajack Reservoir led to the inundation of the lower levels of the Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse, which remain submerged today, still holding parts of the power station’s old turbines and equipment. The Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. The old powerhouse, after being abandoned in 1967, was sold into private ownership, eventually becoming surrounded by a marina built on the new Nickajack Lake. The powerhouse has been repurposed as a private event space with guided tours and annual haunted house events. The old Hales Bar Dam Lock still stands on the opposite side of the lake, now partially inundated, serving as a visual indicator of the former location of the dam. The former powerhouse is a monument to one of the earliest attempts to turn the Tennessee River into a source of hydroelectric power, as well as a shipping channel, which, under the guidance of the Tennessee Valley Authority later in the 20th Century, led the region to grow from an underdeveloped agrarian economic backwater into a developed industrial powerhouse.

Contact CHATTANOOGA REGIONAL HISTORY MUSEUM

CHATTANOOGA HISTORY CENTER
615 LINDSAY ST STE 100
CHATTANOOGA
TN
37402-1041

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CHATTANOOGA REGIONAL HISTORY MUSEUM Information

MID # 8404700274
Name CHATTANOOGA HISTORY CENTER
Alternate Name CHATTANOOGA REGIONAL HISTORY MUSEUM
Classification History Museums, , Southeastern
Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) 581309301
NTEECC A54
Tax period of the latest return filed (YYYYMM) 201305
INCOME 1,234,345
REVENUE 1,205,420
LAT/LONG 35.049065, -85.30468
CODES FIPS State Code: 47
FIPS County Code: 065
US Census Tract: 003100
US Census Block: 1022