Along the Tennessee River

Midway between Knoxville and Chattanooga lies the indomitable Watts Bar Dam, a bulwark stretching 2960 ft across the Tennessee River. The 722 miles of shorelines and over 39000 acres of water surface winds and snakes 72.4 miles to Ft. Loudoun Dam, another dam managed by the Tennessee Valley Authority. 

Essentials

Watts Bar Lake is host to several towns and four separate counties, so the closest hospital or airport may vary. As to what is near Watts Bar Dam, the nearest major airport is Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport, an hour away; the most immediate access to emergency medical care can be found at Rhea Medical Center, which is only 20 minutes away.

Life at Watts Bar Lake

Akin to other lakes and reservoirs in Tennessee, Watts Bar Dam features a temperate four-season climate, making water activities possible year-round. The long stretch of water is ideal for cruising, power boating, tubing, and skiing!

While responsible for a beautiful reservoir, the dam also acts as flood control for the nearby cities of Chattanooga and Knoxville. Similarly, the water is converted into electricity thanks to the hydroelectric facility at the dam. 

Watts Bar Dam makes for an excellent fishing location. Anglers will be pleased to know that Watts Bar Lake is stocked with smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, stripers, catfish, black bass, and crappie. 

Going Nuclear

Before there was Watts Bar Dam, there was Watts Island, a sandbar that stood where the dam does now; Thus, Watts Bar was born. Although the location’s potential as a dam was noted in the 1870s, construction on Watts Bar Dam did not begin until 1939. To understand the story of Watts Bar, one must understand how the Tennessee Valley Authority operates.

As many as 1,800 people worked on Watts Bar Dam, and the 112 ft. high feat was no easy task to complete. These workers required somewhere to sleep and live, and given the remote nature of the Watts Bar Dam project, it was more practical to build lodging and amenities near the dam itself. These hamlets would often develop into small communities, as was the case for Watts Bar.

The communities built up around Watts Bar Dam would not end there, as the settlement would evolve into a town with the addition of a baseball field, tennis courts, telephone service, playgrounds, public paths, and electricity.

Following the completion of the Watts Bar Dam in 1942 and the hum of generators turning on, the numerous workers were no longer necessary. The TVA had an incentive to sell the property as quickly as possible and found their buyer in Pete Smith from Michigan. Smith, recognizing the potential for the land, bought up the remaining properties initially built by the TVA. Smith and his family moved from Michigan and began arduously renovating the property. The new owners added a restaurant, riding stables, a swimming pool, a boat dock, a shuffleboard, and 41 renovated cabins. The future of Watts Bar was bright.

While the Smiths were growing their wealth, electricity from the new dam fed their ambitions. However, the rise of Nazi Germany had become a growing threat to America. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers seized lands along the reservoir for the necessary electricity it provided. The Manhattan Project had begun in Oak Ridge, TN, unbeknownst to the people of Tennessee, and the project required energy.  

Still a popular vacation spot, the Pete Smith Watts Bar Resort, as it came to be known, would eventually be sold to the Probst family. The Probsts’ would run the resort well into the 90s, but all good things must end. Today the resort is closed, the building bulldozed, and the gates locked shut. The spirit of Pete Smith’s Watts Bar Resort still resounds across the Watts Bar Lake; just as the ghosts of the past flocked to Watts Bar, so too do people still come to soak up the sun. 

On the Sandbar

Watts Bar Lake is synonymous with the American story. This humble dam, only a project, was able to flourish into a thriving community creating history all its own. The enthusiasm of Smith and Probst lives on today with the inhabitants of Watts Bar Lake.