Ocoee No. 1 Hydroelectric Station
About this property
Ocoee Dam Number 1 is a hydroelectric dam on the Ocoee River in Polk County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The dam impounds the 1,930-acre (780 ha) Parksville Reservoir (often called Ocoee Lake or Parksville Lake) and is the farthest downstream of four dams on the Toccoa/Ocoee River owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Completed in 1911, Ocoee No. 1 was one of the first hydroelectric projects in Tennessee. Ocoee No. 1 is located approximately 12 miles (19 km) 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 miles (48 km) 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 miles (19 km) upstream from Ocoee No. 1. The dam is 135 feet (41 m) high and 840 feet (260 m) long and has a generating capacity of 24,000 kilowatts, up from an original 19,200 kilowatts after being refurbished in 1989-91. The concrete gravity arched spillway has a maximum discharge of 45,000 cubic feet per second (1,300 m3/s). Parksville Lake has 109 miles (175 km) of shoreline, and the lake's water levels fluctuate by about 9 feet (2.7 m) per year. 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 miles (48 km) 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.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Ocoee No. 1 Hydroelectric Station
This page lists Ocoee No. 1 Hydroelectric Station. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Ocoee No. 1 Hydroelectric Station listed on the National Register?
Ocoee No. 1 Hydroelectric Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 4, 1990.
What type of historic resource is Ocoee No. 1 Hydroelectric Station?
Ocoee No. 1 Hydroelectric Station is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Ocoee No. 1 Hydroelectric Station?
The period of significance for Ocoee No. 1 Hydroelectric Station is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Ocoee No. 1 Hydroelectric Station?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Ocoee No. 1 Hydroelectric Station will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Polk County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Polk County.
Explore PolkCounty ›More historic places in Tennessee
Browse all historic places in Tennessee.
View Tennesseehistoric sites ›Tennessee history
Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.
Tennesseehistory ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Ocoee No. 1 Hydroelectric Station will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.