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Nolichucky Dam is a dam on the Nolichucky River near Greeneville, Tennessee, maintained by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).[1] The dam is located just over 46 miles (74 km) upstream from the mouth of the Nolichucky, and impounds Davy Crockett Lake,[1][2] which extends 6 miles (9.7 km) upstream from the dam.[2][3]
The dam is a concrete gravity overflow type dam 94 feet (29 m) high and 482 feet (147 m) long.[2][3] The dam has an ogee-type spillway with a flashboard crest. Its reservoir, Davy Crockett Lake (named for the folk figure who was born a few miles upstream from the modern dam site in 1786), has roughly 800 acres (320 ha) of water surface.[3]
Nolichucky Dam was built by the Tennessee Eastern Electric Company (TEEC) in 1912-1913 for hydroelectricity generation.[4] The dam was initially equipped with two generators, and TEEC added two more in 1923.[3] In 1941, the East Tennessee Light & Power Company obtained ownership of the dam when it purchased TEEC's assets.[5] The Tennessee Valley Authority purchased East Tennessee Light & Power in 1945 for a lump sum that included $1.47 million for Nolichucky Dam. TVA made various improvements, and at its height, the dam was capable of producing 10,640 kilowatts of electricity.[3] TVA used the dam for power generation until 1972, when sediment buildup in Davy Crockett Lake made continued electricity generation impractical.[2] The dam and reservoir are now used for flood control and recreation;[1] the reservoir is a wildlife management area.[2]
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