Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

  • <p>President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his daughter, Anna, visiting Wilson Dam in 1993, along with Sen. McKellar, Norris, Dill, governors Miller (Alabama) and McAlister (Tennessee)</p>

The Tennessee Valley Authority is a government corporation set up during the Great Depression to bring power, improve transportation, and economic development to the economically suffering Tennessee Valley. The region was financially devastated by the Great Depression, which was exacerbated by the dropping yields due to over-farmed soil as well as rampant disease (over 30% of the population of the Tennessee River Valley were infected with malaria).

Through TVA’s efforts and its additional hydroelectric projects and dredging, the Tennessee River quickly developed into a peaceful, traversable river, unlike its past, untamed self.

The TVA has since developed into a multifaceted energy supplier for the entire Tennessee Valley, with multiple power sources, including hydro, fossil fuels, and nuclear. Some examples of nearby TVA Power Stations are Wilson and Wheeler Dams, and Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant in nearby Athens. Sheffield was the site of its inception and the origin of what the Tennessee Valley has become today.

  • <p>Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Station</p>

Images:

Roosevelt: Birmingham Public Libraries

Browns Ferry: Nuclear Regulatory Commission