History of the Ocoee Dams

Ocoee Dam number one was the first hydroelectric dam built in the state of Tennessee and one of the first in the country. Construction was started in 1910 and in January 1912 the plant initially began generating electrical power. This was 21 years before TVA was formed by the TVA act by Congress. Household electricity was first introduced in 1905 so Ocoee number one was built to satisfy the earliest initial demand for home electricity. It was not until 1930 that a milestone was reached with 70% of households having electrical service. The location chosen for Ocoee Dam No. 1 was just to the east of the more mountainous region currently known as the Cherokee National Forest. The area was a small community called Parksville and a Grist mill stood on the actual dam site at the time. The Dam construction took 18 months and the cost to build was less than three million dollars. A unique facet of the project is that a small town was actually built to house the workers and dam builders. 1500 workers and their families lived in the town which featured its own waterworks department, fire and police, several stores and a hospital. Foundations of some of the town’s buildings are still existing and can be seen from the east end of the lake. Powerlines were then built to transport electricity to Chattanooga, Knoxville and even Nashville, TN.