On the North Shore road, construction began in 1947. It is considered a continuation of NC 28 and runs all the way to US 129 near the Tennessee border. ![]() Lake View Drive was to be the thirty-mile road that would connect Bryson City and Fontana and allow displaced citizens access to the graves of their loved ones.Ī new road was constructed along the southern border of the lake. The Federal Government had promised to replace NC 288 with a new road along the northern shoreline. At some point, twenty-eight of these cemeteries were relocated to higher ground along the north shore of the newly formed lake. Once the dam was completed and the reservoir, now known as Fontana Lake, began to fill, NC Highway 288, the main passage through the area, was submerged along with many of the remaining ghost towns.Īll that was left were cemeteries and ruins of several homesteads, logging operations, and mining towns. So it is my understanding that the creation of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and the subsequent construction of Fontana Dam displaced more than 1,300 families in the area. ![]() **Thanks to Joe Kegley via Wildlife South Magazine, here is a more complete timeline. Urgency toward the completion of the dam intensified.Ĭonstruction began in 1942 and Fontana Dam was completed in 1944. ![]() As aluminum became a critical component in the construction of ships, aircraft, and ammunition for the war, more electricity was needed in order to ramp up production. In 1941 ALCOA agreed to transfer all the land acquired for the Fontana Dam project to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in exchange for dependable power.ġ941 also marked the beginning of World War II. The mid-thirties witnessed the creation of the TVA (whose objective was to develop the resources of the region) and the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In short, what I found out was that as early as 1910, the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA) began obtaining properties along the Little Tennessee River with the intention of developing hydroelectric power. View from Fontana Lake Overlook on Lakeview Dr.
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