60th Anniversary of the creation of Watauga Lake

All photos and illustrations by Pat Johns ©2009
All Rights Reserved
See links to article references at the end of the article.

December 2008

Anniversaries make us look back in time on events that led to lasting changes. The 60th anniversary of the closing of the gates of Watauga Dam and, therefore, the creation of Watauga Lake, are particularly important because there are still people alive who remember the process that led to the building of the dam and the people who were affected by it.

For this part of East Tennessee the building of Watauga Dam was a big story with lasting impact. But, as always, it is really the sum of many personal stories. These stories have been told in several publications including Old Butler & Watauga Academy by Dan Crowe, Lost Heritage by Russ Calhoun, Sr. and Images of America, Old Butler by Michael and Lanetta Depew.

But the best starting points for learning the very personal story of Butler, Tennessee and Watauga Lake are (1) Herman Tester's book Butler: Old, New and Carderview and (2) the Butler Museum. This book and the museum focus on the people of the area and their sacrifices and they tell this truly unique story in a very personal way. A visit to the museum is a must. You are likely to receive your tour from someone who was directly impacted by the building of Watauga Dam or whose family members were. The artifacts in the museum recreate the feeling of the real town that was sacrificed.

Below are articles about the book and the museum as well as some history about Colonel Roderick Butler, for whom the town was ultimately named and the annual celebration called "Old Butler Days".

Floods, wars, bootlegging, Daniel Boone, stunning natural beauty and more! The history of Butler, Tennessee and the Watauga Lake area contains all of these. The events surrounding the settlement and transformation of the area are the subjects of Herman Tester's new book, "Butler; Old, New and Carderview". . .

Read more . . .

The Watauga and Elk River valleys have been the scenes of many floods. The last major one, 1940, started the process which led to the building of the TVA Watauga Dam and the creation of Watauga Lake.

Before there was a Watauga Dam and Watauga Lake there were communities, families and individuals living on land now under the lake. Learn about the story of these people and their sacrifice of the community of Butler (now know as Old Butler). Get a feel for the community life of Old Butler in this wonderful museum in "new" Butler Tennessee. . . .

Read more . . .

           

After considerable work with the Board of the Watauga Academy and Butler Museum, the State of Tennessee honored Old Butler and the Watauga Academy with an historical marker in a beautiful setting just above the new Butler, Tennessee. . .

Read more . . .

"The town that wouldn't drown"? That is Butler, Tennessee. Today's "new" Butler Tennessee was created when the TVA decided to take steps to improve flood control in the Watauga River and Roan Creek Valleys of far Eastern Tennessee by building the Watauga Dam and creating the Watauga Lake. Unfortunately the town of Butler, now known as Old Butler, was sacrificed for this project..

Read more . . .

After years as Smith's Mill, the town was renamed Butler, Tennessee after Colonel Roderick Butler of Mountain City.

Roderick Butler was a commander in the 13th Volunteer Cavalry. Learn about his life, see his beautiful home now fully restored in Mountain City, Tennessee and visit the graveyard where he and his family are buried. . . .

Read more . . .