Near Guntersville in Marshall County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

TVA Goes to War

Photographed by Deborah Spencer, August 2, 2025

1. TVA Goes to War Marker

Inscription.

TVA Goes to War. . TVA Goes to War. During World War II, the U.S. needed to generate a lot of electricity for heavy industry. TVA answered the call by building 12 hydroelectric plants and one steam plant simultaneously, helping the nation build 50,000 planes for U.S. air forces , TVA also generated millions of kilowatts of energy for uranium enrichment at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. As a site of the secret Manhattan Project, Oak Ridge helped produce the first atomic bomb. The effort was a triumph for America's war effort and a major victory for the people of the Tennessee Valley. , Change Brings Challenges to Guntersville. In the 1930's, TVA focused on completing the dams that would make the Tennessee River navigable between Paducah, Kentucky, (and the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers), and Knoxville, Tennessee. TVA was finishing Wheeler Dam in northeastern Alabama and in the midst of building Pickwick Dam when construction of Guntersville Dam began in 1935. , The town of Guntersville's commerce depended on the lumber and cotton industries. Trade would be disrupted by filling the lake when the was complete, so a large dike was built to protect the town, and industry could prosper by moving the goods on the river instead of across it. , Balancing the needs of the many against the sacrifices of a few was the most heart-wrenching responsibility of TVA during the dam's construction. The federal government purchased 110,145 acres of land for the project. As a result nearly 1,200 families as well as numerous graves and cemeteries were relocated to higher ground in the county. But the benefits to the region emerged as well - over 2,000 men worked to build the dam and a small lock that would be expanded in 1965. , A Valley Transformed. By the end of World War II, TVA's presence in the Tennessee Valley had completed changed the land and its people. The availability of electricity revolutionized life in the Tennessee Valley. Electric lights and modern appliances made everyday living easier and attracted new industries and jobs to the region. , In transforming the Tennessee River Valley, TVA became the nation's largest electric power supplier. Over time TVA would even transform itself. Today, the agency is self-financed and receives no federal tax dollars.

TVA Goes to War During World War II, the U.S. needed to generate a lot of electricity for heavy industry. TVA answered the call by building 12 hydroelectric plants and one steam plant simultaneously, helping the nation build 50,000 planes for U.S. air forces

TVA also generated millions of kilowatts of energy for uranium enrichment at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. As a site of the secret Manhattan Project, Oak Ridge helped produce the first atomic bomb. The effort was a triumph for America's war effort and a major victory for the people of the Tennessee Valley.

Change Brings Challenges to Guntersville In the 1930's, TVA focused on completing the dams that would make the Tennessee River navigable between Paducah, Kentucky, (and the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers), and Knoxville, Tennessee. TVA was finishing Wheeler Dam in northeastern Alabama and in the midst of building Pickwick Dam when construction of Guntersville Dam began in 1935.

The town of Guntersville's commerce depended on the lumber and cotton industries. Trade would be disrupted by filling the lake when the was complete, so a large dike was built to protect the

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town, and industry could prosper by moving the goods on the river instead of across it.

Balancing the needs of the many against the sacrifices of a few was the most heart-wrenching responsibility of TVA during the dam's construction. The federal government purchased 110,145 acres of land for the project. As a result nearly 1,200 families as well as numerous graves and cemeteries were relocated to higher ground in the county. But the benefits to the region emerged as well - over 2,000 men worked to build the dam and a small lock that would be expanded in 1965.

A Valley Transformed By the end of World War II, TVA's presence in the Tennessee Valley had completed changed the land and its people. The availability of electricity revolutionized life in the Tennessee Valley. Electric lights and modern appliances made everyday living easier and attracted new industries and jobs to the region.

In transforming the Tennessee River Valley, TVA became the nation's largest electric power supplier. Over time TVA would even transform itself. Today, the agency is self-financed and receives no federal tax dollars.

Erected by Tennessee Valley

Photographed by Deborah Spencer, August 2, 2025

2. TVA Goes to War Marker

Authority.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Industry & Commerce • War, World II • Waterways & Vessels.

Location. 34° 25.357′ N, 86° 23.706′ W. Marker is near Guntersville, Alabama, in Marshall County. 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 in this post office area: 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.

Other nearby markers. At

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least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Rolling Goods Down the River (here, next to this marker); A Mission of Service (here, next to this marker); How the Dam Works (here, next to this marker); Promoting Your Prosperity (here, next to this marker); A Valley of Hardships (here, next to this marker); Guntersville Dam (a few steps from this marker); a different marker also named Guntersville Dam (approx. 0.4 miles away); Gen. Andrew Jackson's Fort Deposit (approx. 4.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Guntersville.

Credits. This page was last revised on August 10, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 4, 2025, by Deborah Spencer of Huntsville, Alabama. This page has been viewed 121 times since then and 25 times this year. Last updated on August 8, 2025, by Deborah Spencer of Huntsville, Alabama. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 4, 2025, by Deborah Spencer of Huntsville, Alabama. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.