Book Review: Images of America Old Butler
by Michael and Lanette Depew with the Butler Museum

September 2007

• Type: Non-Fiction
• Author: Michael and Lanette Depew with the Butler Museum
• Published: Arcadia Publishing 2005
• Subject: The history of Old Butler Tennessee, the creation of the Watauga Dam and Lake and the development of New Butler Tennessee
• About the Authors: "Drawing from the records of the Butler Museum and several private collections, Images of America: Old Butler portrays the early history of the town. This book presents its academic and social development, as well as the many floods that disrupted the lives of residents. Co-author Michael Depew holds a master’s degree in history from East Tennessee State University, where he has also taught. Co-author Lanette Depew, historian and author of A Bridge Spanning Time, has a degree in education from Tennessee Temple University and has taught elementary and middle school for 10 years. They are also the authors of Images of America: Elizabethton."
      ~ Arcadia Publishing (see link below)

The "Images of America" series is Arcadia Publishing's most popular series. To date the series, which began in 1993, includes more than 200 titles. The books tell the history of a community through 200 or more vintage photographs and are written primarily by local and regional writers.

"Images of America: Old Butler" is filled with excellent images of the "Old" Butler Tennessee, a town that is now over 100 feet under water. The area was first settled in the 1760s and 1770s where the Watauga River and Roan Creek meet in East Tennessee near the present day North Carolina border. The area was prone to flooding but had rich soil for farming and became a route for many including Daniel Boone to travel west. Some early members of the Watauga Association (see link below) also came through the area.

The town developed and attracted railway lines adding further to the development. The Watauga Academy became a popular school in the area. Local businesses successfully provided for local citizens and travelers.

However, throughout it all, the floods kept coming and the 1940 flood which destroyed railway lines and damaged businesses and homes, caused the railroad companies to pull out and the Federal Government under President Franklin Roosevelt along with the Tennessee Valley Authority decided to build a dam which would stop the flooding and provide hydroelectric power to many in the area. Unfortunately, the town of Butler would be sacrificed.

With the disruption of World War II, the residents eventually had until 1948 to remove everything down to the foundations of the buildings and move to a new site nearby above the proposed new water line. Because of this there are many artifacts from Old Butler and many photos. (See the Butler Museum link below or click here to go to the article about the museum.)

"Images of America: Old Butler" is not only about a time long gone but also about a town that is now under water and the sacrifices of the people of that town.

Links to sites of interest :

• Arcadia Publishing
• Sycamore Shoals and the Watauga Association
• The Butler Museum