Pedestrian access to the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Fontana Dam begins with a metal turnstile, then a long stretch of sidewalk. Suffocating humidity marked my July 27 entry. The tour required long pants as a safety measure, and I was sweating by the time we entered the building.
But the interior, featuring three massive generators churning water to create electricity, took my attention from this predicament. The hydropower generated here is enough to keep the phones charged and lights shining for 210,000 households. In other words, the 480-foot Fontana Dam, the tallest in the eastern United States, is far from archaic more than 81 years post-construction.
It appears apt that the tour, constituting of a handful of reporters and a select few non-press invitees, was held in commemoration of America 250. The dam is inextricably linked to this region’s history, which reemerges even as TVA looks to turn the page.
