Muscle Shoals in Colbert County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Building a New Future

Building a Future Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sandra Hughes, July 26, 2017

1. Building a Future Marker

Inscription. 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.

For more on the story, watch the video on your mobile phone.
H2 Vintage Footage: Building Norris Dam
Scan the QR or go to www.discovertva.com

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Environment • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1944.

Location. 34° 47.595′ N,

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87° 37.579′ W. Marker is in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, in Colbert County. It can be reached from Reservation Road one mile east of Alabama Route 133, on the left when traveling east. Marker is located at TVA's Visitor Center Kiosk. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Muscle Shoals AL 35661, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Alabama

and in the Shoals.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: TVA Goes to War (here, next to this marker); Natural and Cultural Preservation / Protecting Resources (here, next to this marker); TVA: A History of Progress and Innovation / A Valley of Hardships (here,

Photographed by Sandra Hughes, July 26, 2017

2. Building a Future Marker

next to this marker); Wilson Dam: Setting the Stage (here, next to this marker); TVA: Our Enduring Mission / Powering Prosperity (here, next to this marker); Explore the River (a few steps from this marker); Wilson Dam: Cornerstone of the TVA System (a few steps from this marker); Gulls Glorious Gulls (a few steps from this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Muscle Shoals.

Additional keywords. Tennessee Valley Authority

Credits. This page was last revised on February 9, 2020. It was originally submitted on July 27, 2017, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 496 times since then and 16 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 27, 2017, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.