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Development of the Cumberland River Basin by the US Army Corps Of . DEVELOPMENT OF THE. CUMBEFlAND RIVER . BASIN • BY THE U. S. &~Vff. CORPS OF ENGINEERS . NASHVILLE D~TRICT HISTORY The past; present and future of the Middle Tennessee and Southern Ken­ tucky Region is indelibly associated with the Cumberland River. · In 1714 one M. Charleville, a French trader from the colony at ·New Orleans, ca.me among the Shawnees to trade. He established his store upon a mound on the west side of the Cumberland near French Lick Creek and unknowingly laid at the same time the foundation upon which the City of Nashville grew to become a center of southern industry, commerce and culture. In 1748 the river received its name from Doctor Thomas Walker of Virginia who, on an explar~tory tour of the western waters, fou.nd a beauti­ ful mountain stream which he named "Cumberland11 in honor of the Duke of Cumbe:::'land, then Prime Minister of England. In r769 the "long hunters", MEi.nsco, Uriah Stone, John Baker, Thomas Gordon, Humphrey Hogan, Cash Brooks and others built two boats a.n.d two trapping canoes, loaded them. with the results of their hunting and descended the Cumberland River - the first . navigation and the, first .cot:mlerce probably ever carried on the stree.m by Anglo-Americans. The .later accounts of these hunters influenced Captain James Robertson to lead a hardy band ot settlers from the Watauga Settle­ ment in 1779 to establish a new home on the blu:f'fs of the Cumberland, where he was joined in 1780 by :Colonel John Donelson who commanded an intrepid group on the incredible voyage of the boat ''Adventure" down the Tennessee, up the Ohio and the Cumberland to :Nashville • From that early beginning, some 200 yea.rs ago, the Cumberland River has become increasingl,y more Un.portant to community life in this area. :Even the history of the world has .been influenced by events taking place .in the Cumberland Valley. The process of making steel out of molten iron, merely by blowing cold air into it (the Bessemer process) was dis­ covered by William Kelly in 1851 near .Eddyville, Kentucky. This historic discovery took place .on the land located between the Cumberland and Ten­ nessee Rivers '(known today as the "Land Between the Rivers") where the hills were filled with iron ore and navigable waterways were available to trans­ port the finished products. With this discovery the "Age of Steel" was born. By 1890, the United States was the greatest steel-making nation in the world and, since that_time, 3,000,000,000 tons of steel have rolled from the furnaces .of America. The initial Federal work on development of the Cumberland River was accompl·1shed in_J.832 when_!30,ooo _)!as ma.de available for removal of snags and bars. In Au~J.888, the- Corpa of Engineers, u. s. A:rm:J', established a D1st]:"1ct Office at Nashville to expedite wo.rk on a. series of low dams and navigation locl~s for the Cumberland. The river was still viewed as a traffic artery with few other benefits. Fifte·en structures were com­ pleted by 1925 providing a year-around navigation channel to Carthage, Tennessee, 3o8 miles above the mouth of the Cumberland (at Smithland, Kentucky, on the Ohio River), and a y~ar-around harbor at Burnside, Ken­ tucky, 516 miles from the mouth. In 1930 a Comprehensive Plan of Improve­ ment for the Cumberland River Basin was recommended by the Chief of Engi­ neers providing .consideration for flood c~trol, navigation improvement, hydro:..power development and other purposes. This report served as a basis for subsequent devel.opments authorized by the Congress. PRESENT STATUS The plan of development for the Cumberland River by the Corps of ~gineers, u. s. Army, currently envisions the construction of 3 dams and reser:voirs in the 17,720 square m.le Cumberland Va.l.ley, with additional projects under investigation a.t the present time. (Of this, 10,160 square miles are in Tennessee and .7, 560 square miles in Ken·cucky. ) When the Cordell Hull and J.· Percy Pl•iest projects are completed, they will mark the seventh and .eighth components in the plan. ' Twelve of the projects in the pi·esent plan have been approved by Con­ gress for construction. Studies have been completed and a favorable recom­ mendation submitted for one additional project, Devlls J·umps on the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River. An additional project or -projects on the Rockcastle River in the headwaters above Wolf Creek may be recommended · tor construction in the event studies currently under way renect ,a favol"• able benefit-to-cost ratio. Studies are also being made to determine if additional projects are required for the uppe~ Cumberlan4 River. _ Five of the projects have been completed. They are ~le Hollow,­ Tennessee-Kentucky, completed in 1949; Center Hill, Tennessee, completed in 1951.; Wolf Creek (Lake Cumberland), Kentucky, completed in 1952; Old Hickory Lock and Dam, Tennessee, completed in 1957; and ~eatham Lock . and : (. · . 8 /' . '1 -· I /I/ ' I !} /. • I· , J • /- .J Dem, Tennessee' completed in 195 • J' y'F {1---t ' (J (J'r( '.r c.1·' '/(;_,{ )'. ) IL _; {h i1·1/ ;'. £<:''-­ J ' ~ Construction of the Barkley project, near river mile 30.6, was initiated in June 1957 • This project is designed to eliminate the five remaining obsolete locks and dams on the lower Cumberland River and improve navigation, as well as to provide benefits of flood control, hydroelectric power production, recreation, pollution abatement and low ·flow improvement during periods of drought. The project is scheduled for completion in 1966. An interesting feature of the project is a canal which will join Lake Barkley with Kentucky Reservoir on the Tennessee River and permit interchange of water in these two great rivers for flood control and hydro­ power production. In addition, major benefits will accrue to navigation improvement and recreational use.· Water in the canal will be free-flowing and the two reservoirs will be operated at the same elevations. 2 · Construction of the Percy Priest and Cordell Hull projects was initiated in tbe ·spring of 1963 and they are schedul.ed for completion in 1968 .and 1969, respectively. The Celina and .Three Islands projects will be res.tud.ied for economic justification prior to submission of any recommendations for construction. The Rossview project is currently in an inactive status. Preconstruction planning on the Laurel River project above Wolf Creek, authorized by Con-, gress in 1960, ·is nov under way. FI,OOD CONTROL According to flood frequency records, river heights above flood stage occurred under natural conditions on an average of once each year on the Cumberland River. These devastating forces are being rapidly harnessed, however, ~s additional units in the Corps of Engineers plan are placed in operation. Upon completion of the program, Nashvil1.e and the entire Cumber­ land River area from Wolf. Creek Dam to Clarksville will have a high degree of flood protection and some benefits will be derived below Clarksville. Since completion of the Wolf Creek, Dale Hollow, and Center Hill projects, more than $40,000,000 in flood damage has been averted in the Cumberland River Basin, including that provid1dby local protection projects at Middlesboro, Pineville, and Barboui"ville, Kentucky. Benefits to Nashville alone exceed $28,000,000. Substantial benefits also accrue to the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys. POWER Power producing facilities a.re being included in all projects where . feasible and economically sound. The total proposed plant capacity for .the projects authorized ~d recommended for authorization approximates l! million kilowatts. The plants.will have an average annual output; in excess of 3-3/4 bill.ion kilowatt hours. Upon completion of the entire system, average annual power benefits will be in excess of $30,000,000. NAVIGATION Commerce on the Cumberland River in 1962 totaled 3,130,425 tons. Ton-mileage of 461,679, 771 exceeds tha·t of any pr ior year. The marked gain in ton-mileage for the past several years is att ributed to an increase in long-haul commodities which originate at many points on the inland water­ ways system, such as Houston, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Kansas City, Chicago, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. Sustained high tonnage on the Cumberland has been achieved despite the fact that navigation facilities below the Cheatham project are grossly inadequate to accommodate modern tow boats and barges ­ a situation which will be relieved with completion of Barkley Dam. 3 REC!IBATION Reservoirs created several. years ago by Wolf Creek Dam in Kentucky and Center Hill and Dale Hollow Iams in Tennessee h.~ve become recreational meccas for ,millions;.· Now the reservoirs formed by Old Hickory and Cheatham Dams are avail• able ·forthe 'enjoyment, ot·the ·people of Middle Tennessee-and surrounding areas. Sightseeing at the beauti!ul lakes and massive concrete structures accounted for the majority of the visitors wit.h fishermen a close second, lured by the bass, crappie, and walleye for which the 11 Great Lakes .of the South11 a.re famous •. Boating and camping attracteda sizable number t'o the reservoirs, while swimming and hunting accounted for the remainder. RELATED BENEFITS Stream flow regulation is also an important feature in the development of the CWnberland .as water be.comes a more .critical resource in .our Nation's economy. Water is stored in the tremendous upstream reservoirs during the rainy season for release during the dry summer months, when otherwise the unregulated stream would b& at low stage. As an example, :!.n October 1963 flows under natural conditions ·:tn the· Cumberland River at Nashv:l.lle would have been reduced to approximately 370 cubic feet per second.
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