In the early 1930s, which Wilson Dam serving as the starting point for the newly formed TVA and its river development plan, an era of new prosperity in the region began. TVA embarked on one of the largest U.S. hydropower construction programs ever—starting with Tennessee's Norris Dam, named after the Senator—building 16 dams and employing more than 50,000 workers by the end of 1944.
These dams controlled flooding and vastly improved navigation. TVA completed a 652-mile shipping channel, set in motion by Wilson Dam's taming of Muscle Shoals, stretching form the Ohio River near Paducah, Kentucky to Knoxville, Tennessee—increasing trade in the region by more than 400 percent in just a decade.
TVA's work sparked an economic transformation of the Tennessee Valley—created jobs, more growth and renewed hope.
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H2 Vintage Footage: Building Norris Dam
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