Near Guntersville in Marshall County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
A Valley of Hardships
Photographed by Deborah Spencer, August 2, 2025
1. A Valley of Hardships Marker
Inscription.
A Valley of Hardships. .
A Valley of Hardships. Before the Tennessee Valley Authority, life in the Tennessee River Valley was full of adversity. The Tennessee River continually flooded homes, farms and entire towns and stripped the land of fertile soil. River navigation was dangerous and unpredictable. Diseases such as malaria, smallpox and typhoid fever took too many lives. Around Guntersville, only 3 in 100 farms had access to electricity so completing daily tasks was difficult. These were desparate times, but a new day was coming. ,
The New Deal and the Birth of TVA. As governor of New York, Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to use dams in his state to create affordable power. His idea caught the attention of Nebraska Senator George Norris who had advocated a similar plan for the Tennessee Valley. Norris and Roosevelt then worked together to make the plan a reality. , In 1933 Roosevelt became president of the United States and initiated the New Deal, a series of government programs to lift the country out of the Great Depression. As part of the New Deal, Roosevelt signed an act creating a new government agency - The Tennessee Valley Authority, or TVA. ,
Building a New Future. TVA was immediately tasked with improving flood control, river navigation and agricultural practices throughout the Tennessee Valley. TVA's work would also lead to the generation of hydroelectric power - changing lives in the Valley forever. , In 1933, TVA started building Norris Dam, located between the Clinch and Powell Rivers in Tennessee. By 1944, TVA had completed 16 dams and employed more than 50,000 workers - one of the largest U.S. hydropower construction programs ever. TVA's completion of a 652-mile shipping channel, stretching from the Ohio River to Knoxville, Tennessee, increased trade in the region by more than 400 percent in just a decade. TVA's work sparked an economic transformation of the Tennessee Valley, creating jobs, more growth and renewed hope.
A Valley of Hardships
Before the Tennessee Valley Authority, life in the Tennessee River Valley was full of adversity. The Tennessee River continually flooded homes, farms and entire towns and stripped the land of fertile soil. River navigation was dangerous and unpredictable. Diseases such as malaria, smallpox and typhoid fever took too many lives. Around Guntersville, only 3 in 100 farms had access to electricity so completing daily tasks was difficult. These were desparate times, but a new day was coming.
The New Deal and the Birth of TVA
As governor of New York, Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to use dams in his state to create affordable power. His idea caught the attention of Nebraska Senator George Norris who had advocated a similar plan for the Tennessee Valley. Norris and Roosevelt then worked together to make the plan a reality.
In 1933 Roosevelt became president of the United States and initiated the New Deal, a series of government programs to lift the country out of the Great Depression. As part of the New Deal, Roosevelt signed an act creating a new government agency - The Tennessee Valley Authority,
Click or scan to see this page online
or TVA.
Building a New Future
TVA was immediately tasked with improving flood control, river navigation and agricultural practices throughout the Tennessee Valley. TVA's work would also lead to the generation of hydroelectric power - changing lives in the Valley forever.
In 1933, TVA started building Norris Dam, located between the Clinch and Powell Rivers in Tennessee. By 1944, TVA had completed 16 dams and employed more than 50,000 workers - one of the largest U.S. hydropower construction programs ever. TVA's completion of a 652-mile shipping channel, stretching from the Ohio River to Knoxville, Tennessee, increased trade in the region by more than 400 percent in just a decade. TVA's work sparked an economic transformation of the Tennessee Valley, creating jobs, more growth and renewed hope.
Location. 34° 25.357′ N, 86° 23.707′ W. Marker is near Guntersville, Alabama, in Marshall County. It is
Photographed by Deborah Spencer, August 2, 2025
2. A Valley of Hardships Marker
on Snow Point Road north of Jackson Rd, on the right when traveling north. It is on Snow Point Road north of Jackson Rd, on the right when traveling north. Located inside the Kiosk next to the Guntersville Dam Range Station where Snow Point Road turns west to follow the river. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3464 Co Rd 50, Guntersville AL 35976, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in North Alabama. 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 original Cherokee Nation, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 9, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 8, 2025, by Deborah Spencer of Huntsville, Alabama. This page has been viewed 228 times since then and 27 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on August 8, 2025, by Deborah Spencer of Huntsville, Alabama. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.
