Chilhowee Hydroelectric Development

The story

Written by AI from this property's National Register nomination and the record above; every sentence is checked against its sources before it appears here. Corrections: privacy@treealive.com

The Chilhowee Hydroelectric Development is a historic district near Tallassee in Blount County, Tennessee, covering 21.5 acres with two contributing buildings built from 1955 to 1957 in a functional style.

Why it's listed

It was listed in the National Register in 2004 under criterion A and Criteria Consideration G, with local significance in industry. Its period of significance is about 1955 to 1957, when its system began operations in August 1957.

Physical character

The dam is a concrete gravity structure with rock fill abutments, 1,483 feet long and 91 feet high, featuring six tainter gates that control its spillway and a concrete railing topped by a steel balustrade. A crane runs on a steel track system, and a concrete-surfaced roadbed crosses the development. Its buildings have aluminum and steel walls and roofs over poured concrete foundations, with corrugated aluminum interiors, tile floors, an original steel door, and an overhead roll-up aluminum door.

Historical context

Alcoa (the Aluminum Company of America) began the area's power system with a plant that started operating in 1914, followed by the Cheoah dam and powerhouse in 1919, the Santeetlah facility in 1928, and the Calderwood development in 1930. The company began building a large sheet mill at Alcoa, Tennessee, in 1940, completing its North Plant in 1942. The Chilhowee development was built by Alcoa's Power and Engineering Group of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as part of the Tapoco Hydroelectric Project.