Hale's Bar Dam Powerhouse | |
 Hales Bar Dam Powerhouse, now being used as a private event location. It is also open for reservation-only tours. | |
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| Location | 1265 Hale's Bar Rd., Haletown, Tennessee |
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| Coordinates | 35°2′48″N 85°32′22″W / 35.04667°N 85.53944°W |
| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Built | 1905-1913 |
| Architect | John Bogart[2] |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 08001111[1] |
| Added to NRHP | November 25, 2008 |
Hales Bar Dam was a hydroelectric dam once located on the Tennessee River in Marion County, Tennessee, United States. The Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company began building the dam on October 17, 1905, and completed it on November 11, 1913, making Hales Bar one of the first major multipurpose dams and one of the first major dams to be built across a navigable channel in the United States. It began operation on November 13, 1913.
On August 15, 1939, the Tennessee Valley Authority, which had been established by the President Franklin D. Roosevelt administration to develop and regulate flood control and hydropower in the Valley, assumed control of Hales Bar Dam after purchasing TEPCO's assets through Eminent Domain. It had conducted a lengthy court battle that went all the way to the US Supreme Court.
The TVA worked for two decades trying to fix a leakage problem that had plagued Hales Bar since its construction. But, after continued leakage and determining that expanding the dam's navigation lock would be too expensive, TVA decided to replace the dam. It built Nickajack Dam 6 miles (9.7 km) downstream. Hales Bar Dam ceased operation on December 14, 1967.[3]
- ^ "National Register Information System – (#08001111)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ Paul Archambault. National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Hale's Bar Dam Powerhouse. National Park Service, 2008-05-30. Accessed 2009-08-31.
- ^ Tennessee Valley Authority, The Nickajack Project: A Report on the Planning, Design, Construction, Initial Operations, and Costs, Technical Report No. 16 (Knoxville, Tenn.: Tennessee Valley Authority, 1972), pp. 1-3, 10-11, 17-19, 307-311.