Evening star., 1933-10-22
NORRIS DAM SITE
CONQUEST BEGUN
Men and Machines Start to
Tame Wild Country for
Development.
Special Dispatch to The Star.


Autumn is creeping up to Cove Greek.
The sweet gum trees are flaming red
and the naples and oaks are mottling
the dark green hills with shades Of
yellow and brown. Corn Is stacked in
the gray fields just below the site of the
Norris Dam, the last crop ever to be
harvested from this little tongue Of
I1ch land which the followers of Daniel
Boone took from the Indians and
cleared OF timber. Around these fields
the Clinch River cuts broad curve to
: the west. champagne. colored and rip
pllng over its shoals.
Below the dam site workmen are
turning the dark red loan into road
way and along the banks of the river
brush Is burning where the huge con-
struction bridge is beginning to take
form. The cool crisp air carries the
pungent odor Of wood smoke.
There is great white scar at the
base of the steep cliff on the west bank
of the river where the drillers have
bitten into the hard dolomite rock and
driven two tunnels into the hill and a
vertical shaft into the bedrock to test
the quality of the great dams fonda-
tions Tight against this cliff an air
compressor putters like stalled motor
truck. and then from the deep earth
comes the dull thud Of an explosion.
The drillers have sunk the shaft an
other six feet.
Hills Clawed Down.
Down a steep mountain road power
shovel rumbleS. 1t was taken on the
railroad cars at Cove Greek the day be-
fore. And now. after a smile journey
under its own power, over rough ana
tumble mountain road. 1t Is clawlng at
the sides OF a steep hill. the rocky in
terror Of which will soon be fed into
the concrete mixers.
However. the work now being done at
the site on the Norris Dam is but
mere ripple in the activity which has
been going on for miles about. Before
excavation for the great dam could be-
gin tremendous amount OF detailed
preliminary work had to be completed.
OF this, the most important are the
surveys and mapping OF the area Lne
providing of means for getting supplies
to the dam, and the erection OF guar .
tiers for the men to be employed there.
Far to the north, along the Cllncn
and Powell Rivers. surveyors are run
ming their lines along the steep hlllSldes
and up and down the numerous raVlnes
and valleys where pioneers stalked deer
and bear with flint lock rifles. From
the field notes Of these men, written
in their own peculiar system OF mathe-
r rhatical Shorthand, engineers are
drawing large scale and detailed maps
which give the engineers such an &C
eurate picture Of the territory in which
they are working that they cannot
only calculate the exact acreage Whlcn
the Government will have to purchase
put can tell just where the WaterIne
of the dams reservoir will be.
Speed Up Work.
To speed this work. the engineers
have established a headquarters at La
toilette. Tenn. about 20 miles from
Cove Greek. There, and in Knoxville,
many of them are bending over the
drawing boards, tracing the contour
lines which the surveyors are laying
out and others, in Denver, working
from these maps are rapidly complet-
ing the detailed construction plans OF
the dams superstructure.
Meanwhile, the mapping OF the 5,0co
tracts of land which the Government
will have to acquire is going lol"aro
rapidly For the most part these are
wild timber lands and mountain farms:
Yet, up and down the two rivers. ana
sometimes tucked away in the valleys
are villages and towns which the dam
will flood All OF this property has to
be fairly appraised as we'll as surveyed
and agents and field workers represent
ing the Tennessee Valley Authority are
negotiating with the many land owners
for the acquisition OF their properties.
Although the site of the Norris Dam
Is only Is miles from Knoxville, the
wild and rugged mountain country
which separates it from the city makes
it almost inaccessible. The dam site
is in fact water gap which the
Clinch River has cut across noun
tain range a few miles below the point
where the Clinch and the Powell
Rivers flow together. The roads that
lead to the site are mere wagon trans
80 narrow that there are only occasional
places where vehicles may pass.
Highways Begun.
In order to get the excavating ma
chinery and other supplies to the dam
site the Tennessee Valley Authority
has awarded a contract for the b1lllo,
ing OF a heavy-duty highway from Coai
Creek to the dam site, a distance OF
some S miles. A temporary bridge OF
the crib and steel girder type is under
ronstruction across the Clinch River.
some 200 feet below the axis OF the
dam Additional roadways to connect
with the bridge and the heavy-duty ROAD
have been laid out and construction on
them has started.
Meanwhile, at Coal Creek, the
Southern Railroad is constructing q
the Authority. When that siding Is
completed, another one ESQ feet IN
1snrth will be laid down for travelling
crane which will be used in unloading
heavy machinery. Then. when the ce-
ment for the dam begins to arrive, a
third siding. 1900 feet in length, Will
be constructed.
II will. of course. be impracticable ID
.mnlov anv sizable number OF WORKERS
at the dam site until suitable housing
has been erected for them. Inc 1oics
now working there has been recrulte1
from neighboring farms. with sman
number boarding at these farm homes
Existing housing near the dam Is al
ready taxed to capacity.
For that reason the Authority has
MANNED a village for its Norris Dam
workers While it is not intended TO
make this a model village" in the lit
eral sense of the term. every effort mas
been made to afford attractive and COM
Portable living quarters for the men
employed, while at the same time keep.
ing the project within the bounds OF
economy.
Community Planned.
In keeping with the spirit and char
acter of the people Of the Southern
Appalachians. the plans call for South
ern types Of houses almost exclusively.
A notable staff has been assembled to
Law out and construct this village.
working under the direction OF Earle S:
Draper director of land planning and
housing for the Authority, is the KncX-
VILE firm Of Barber &, McMurray. archl-
tects. and in addition Prof. Henry V.
Hubbard of Harvard University Is acting
os consllltant in town planning; Eliei
Ssarinen. an architect whose work in
E,lrope has attracted worldwide atten-
tion, is acting as architectural consult
.nt and Tracy B. Augur, noted for his
AI i. natrnif Dearborn Ann ArbOr