page_title: Ocoee Dam No. 1
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Ocoee Dam No. 1 / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Ocoee Dam No. 1 under construction in Polk County, Tennessee, United States.
context_page_description: Ocoee Dam Number 1 is a hydroelectric dam on the Ocoee River in Polk County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The dam impounds the 1,930-acre Parksville Reservoir, and is the farthest downstream of four dams on the Toccoa/Ocoee River owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Completed in 1911, Ocoee No. 1 was one of the first hydroelectric projects in Tennessee.
context_section_description: The rapid growth of industry in Chattanooga in the late 19th century and early 20th century brought an increasing demand for electricity, and the rapid-flowing Ocoee River— which slices through a gorge in the mountains 30 miles (48 km) east of the city— was considered a prime candidate for hydroelectric power by the region's early electric companies.  In 1910, the C.M. Clark Company, an electrical transportation holding firm, formed the Eastern Tennessee Power Company to build two hydroelectric dams on the Ocoee, and market their electricity output primarily to Chattanooga.  Work on Ocoee Dam No. 1 began later that year, and was completed in late December 1911.  On January 27, 1912, Ocoee Dam No. 1's four units began commercial operation. A fifth unit was added in 1914. The five units provided a total capacity of 18 MW. Power was distributed primarily to Chattanooga, and also to Knoxville, Nashville, and Rome, Georgia, as well as the aluminum industries in Alcoa.
  A coal burning station known as the Parksville Steam Plant was built adjacent to the dam in 1916 to provide generation during periods of low water flow. It was last used in 1954.
  In 1922, the Eastern Tennessee Power Company and several other entities merged to form the Tennessee Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which overhauled Ocoee No. 1 in the 1930s.  In 1933, the TVA Act created the Tennessee Valley Authority and gave the Authority oversight of the Tennessee River watershed, which includes the Ocoee River.  The head of TEPCO, Jo Conn Guild, was vehemently opposed to the creation of TVA, and with the help of attorney Wendell Willkie, challenged the constitutionality of the TVA Act in federal court.  The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the TVA Act, however, in its 1939 decision Tennessee Electric Power Company v. TVA.  On August 16, 1939, TEPCO was forced to sell its assets to TVA for $78 million, which included $2.68 million for Ocoee Dam No. 1.
caption: Ocoee Dam No. 1 under construction in 1911
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