Iconic Locations: Fontana Dam

Today, we’re hiking on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, to the site of Fontana Dam. It’s the tallest dam east of the Rocky Mountains. Constructed in the 1940s, the dam and its resulting reservoir flooded four towns and affected the daily lives and memories of many people. So, why was the dam built and what lies beneath the cool blue waters of Fontana Lake?

Further Reading:

“Fontana Dam, N.C.,” Appalachian Trail Conservancy

“The History of Fontana Village,” Fontana Village Resort and Marina.

“Interview with Commodore A. Casada, 11 November 2009,” interview by Rhydon T. Atzenhoffer, Oral Histories of Western North Carolina, Southern Appalachian Digital Collections.

Archival Photographs of Fontana Village and Fontana Lake, Southern Appalachian Digital Collections.

“Fontana,” Tennessee Valley Authority.

“Tennessee Valley Authority Act (1933),” National Archives and Records Administration.

Pete Seeger, "The TVA Song," Gazette, Vol. 1 (1958) Smithsonian Folkways Recordings https://folkways.si.edu/pete-seeger/gazette-vol-1/american-folk/music/album/smithsonian.