Fontana Dam, North Carolina

Last updated

Fontana Dam, North Carolina
Town
USA North Carolina location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Fontana Dam
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Fontana Dam
Coordinates: 35°26′08″N83°49′09″W / 35.43556°N 83.81917°W / 35.43556; -83.81917
Country United States
State North Carolina
County Graham
Government
 • MayorRob Hardy [1]
Area
[2]
 • Total0.62 sq mi (1.62 km2)
 • Land0.62 sq mi (1.62 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
1,821 ft (555 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total13
 • Density20.83/sq mi (8.04/km2)
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
28733
Area code 828
GNIS feature ID1020300 [3]

Fontana Dam (also known as Fontana Village) is a town in Graham County, North Carolina, United States. Fontana Dam is located on North Carolina Highway 28 near the Fontana Dam and the Little Tennessee River. The town incorporated in 2011 and had a full-time population of 33. [4]

Contents

History

"Downtown" at Fontana Village, N. C, 1930 - 1945 (Tichnor Brothers collection) "Downtown" at Fontana Village, N. C. (5812054122).jpg
"Downtown" at Fontana Village, N. C, 1930 - 1945
(Tichnor Brothers collection)

The town is based around the village built to support the dam construction from 1942 to 1944, so that the dam could produce electricity to power the ALCOA (Aluminum Company Of America) in nearby Alcoa, Tennessee which is south of Knoxville. The company was producing aluminum to make military aircraft during World War II. The cottages now rented out for visitors were employee houses. The dining hall is now a cafeteria and the commissary is now the village store. The old lodge was once a hospital and a school was also on the grounds. The children who grew up there during the dam construction times now have an association called "Dam Kids" and they keep in touch and have reunions.

The property was transferred to Guest Services of America (GSA) then sold to Peppertree Corporation of Asheville NC in 1987. The CEO, Wayne Kinzer was later convicted of a felony and the property changed hands several times thereafter. Police services were once handled by village company police of the resort, but with Kinzer's felony conviction, the agency disbanded. The TVA police also patrolled the property which was part of a 100-year ground lease from TVA. With the disbanding of TVA police in 2012, the Graham County Sheriff Department and the NC Highway Patrol are the only police services to the area now.

Incorporation

Fontana Dam incorporated as a Town in June 2011.

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
2020 13—
U.S. Decennial Census [5]

2020 census

Fontana Dam racial composition [6]
RaceNumberPercentage
White (non-Hispanic)1184.62%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)00%
Native American 10.077%
Asian 00%
Pacific Islander 00%
Other/Mixed 00%
Hispanic or Latino 10.077%

At the 2020 census, there were 13 people and 4 households residing in the town. The population density was 20.97 inhabitants per square mile (8.10/km2). There were 70 housing units at an average density of 112.90 per square mile (43.59/km2). The racial composition of the city was: 84.62% White, 0.077% Hispanic or Latino American, and 0.077% Native American. [7]

Economy

The town's main employer is the Fontana Village Resort, which serves 100,000 visitors annually. [8] Fontana Dam has a post office with ZIP code 28733. [9] [10] In addition to residents and resort guests, the post office also serves hikers on the Appalachian Trail, which crosses the Fontana Dam; it is the first post office on the trail north of its southern end in Georgia. The Fontana Dam post office was one of several scheduled to be closed in 2011, though the closings have since been postponed. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blount County, Tennessee</span> County in Tennessee, United States

Blount County is a county located in the East Tennessee Grand Division of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 135,280. The county seat is Maryville, which is also the county's largest city. Blount County is included in the Knoxville metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swain County, North Carolina</span> County in North Carolina, United States

Swain County is a county located on the far western border of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,117. Its county seat is Bryson City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graham County, North Carolina</span> County in North Carolina, United States

Graham County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,030, making it the third-least populous county in North Carolina. Its county seat is Robbinsville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cherokee County, North Carolina</span> County in North Carolina, United States

Cherokee County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It borders Tennessee to its west and Georgia to its south. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,774. The county seat is Murphy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Santeetlah, North Carolina</span> Town in North Carolina, United States

Lake Santeetlah is a town in Graham County, North Carolina, United States, 6 miles (10 km) northwest of Robbinsville on a peninsula surrounded by Lake Santeetlah—which in turn is largely surrounded by Nantahala National Forest. The town has more than two hundred residences, many of them second homes owned by permanent residents of Florida and Georgia. The town was organized in 1989 as "Santeetlah"; in 1999, it changed its name to "Lake Santeetlah". The full-time population was 67 at the 2000 census and dropped to 45 in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dillsboro, North Carolina</span> Town in North Carolina, United States

Dillsboro is a town in Jackson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 232 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Badin, North Carolina</span> Town in North Carolina, United States

Badin is a town located in Stanly County, North Carolina, United States. At the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 1,974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryson City, North Carolina</span> Town in North Carolina, United States

Bryson City is a town in and the county seat of Swain County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,558 as of the 2020 census. Located in what was historically the land of the Cherokee, Bryson City was founded as Charleston to serve as the county seat of Swain County when it was formed from parts of surrounding counties. It grew into an important local rail hub. Today the city serves as a popular tourist destination, lying just to the west of the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, for outdoor activities in the Nantahala National Forest, and along the Nantahala River and Fontana Lake, and serves as the home of the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, a heritage railroad that provides tours of the Nantahala valley. The popular Nantahala Outdoor Center provides guide services for many of the outdoor activities in the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenback, Tennessee</span> City in Tennessee, United States

Greenback is a city in Loudon County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was at 1,102, according to the 2020 census. It is included in the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Tennessee River</span> River in the United States of America

The Little Tennessee River is a 135-mile (217 km) tributary of the Tennessee River that flows through the Blue Ridge Mountains from Georgia, into North Carolina, and then into Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. It drains portions of three national forests— Chattahoochee, Nantahala, and Cherokee— and provides the southwestern boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roland A. Wank</span> Hungarian modernist architect (1898–1970)

Roland A. Wank (1898–1970) was a Hungarian-American modernist architect, best known for his work for the Tennessee Valley Authority in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tellico Village, Tennessee</span> Census-designated place in Tennessee, United States

Tellico Village is an unincorporated planned community, and census-designated place on the western shore of Tellico Reservoir in Loudon County, Tennessee, United States, about 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Knoxville. Its population was 5,791 as of the 2010 census and and 7,311 at the 2020 census. Tellico Village is the second largest area by population in Loudon County behind Lenoir City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fontana Dam</span> Dam in North Carolina, United States

Fontana Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Little Tennessee River in Swain and Graham counties, North Carolina, United States. The dam is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the early 1940s to satisfy the skyrocketing electricity demands in the Tennessee Valley to support the aluminum industry at the height of World War II; it also provided electricity to a formerly rural area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calderwood Dam</span> Hydroelectric dam in Tennessee

Calderwood Dam is a hydroelectric dam located along the Little Tennessee River in Blount and Monroe counties, in the U. S. state of Tennessee. Completed in 1930, the dam is owned and maintained by Tapoco, a subsidiary of the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa), although the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) controls the dam's reservoir levels from Fontana Dam further upstream. Calderwood Dam is named for Alcoa engineer Isaac Glidden Calderwood (1871–1941), who supervised much of the company's early Little Tennessee River operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheoah Dam</span> Historic district in North Carolina, United States

The Cheoah Dam is a hydroelectric dam located in Graham and Swain counties, North Carolina, on the Little Tennessee River between river miles 51 and 52. The Cheoah Development consists of a dam and powerhouse, the first of several constructed by the Tallassee Power Company, a subsidiary of Aluminum Company of America, in order to generate electricity to smelt aluminum in Alcoa, Tennessee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chilhowee Dam</span> Hydroelectric dam in Tennessee

Chilhowee Dam is a hydroelectric dam located in Blount and Monroe counties, Tennessee, United States, between river mile 33 and 34 on the Little Tennessee River. Construction by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) began in 1955 and was completed in 1957. The dam's reservoir covers approximately 1,734 acres (702 ha) at normal full pool and has a drainage area of 1,977 square miles (5,120 km2). The elevation of Chilhowee Reservoir is 874 feet (266 m) above mean sea level (USGS). Chilhowee's powerhouse is equipped with three Kaplan turbines that have a combined generating capacity of 48 megawatts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walland, Tennessee</span> CDP in Tennessee, United States

Walland is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Blount County, Tennessee. Its population was 281 as of the 2020 census. Walland is the site of a post office and is the place name associated with zip code 37886, which covers an area beyond the Walland community.

Alcoa Power Generating, Inc. is a subsidiary of Alcoa Inc., headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its three divisions were independent subsidiaries before being consolidated into Alcoa Power Generating, Inc. (APGI). These three projects have produced hydroelectric power and manage impoundments which also provide flood control; recreation, residential and business opportunities; and wildlife habitat.

Almond is an unincorporated community in Swain County, North Carolina, United States. Almond is located on the Little Tennessee River and North Carolina Highway 28 7.9 miles (12.7 km) west-southwest of Bryson City.

Caroleen is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Rutherford County, North Carolina, United States. Its population was 652 as of the 2010 census. Caroleen has a post office with ZIP code 28019. U.S. Route 221 Alternate passes through the community.

References

  1. ↑ "NC SBE Contest Results". er.ncsbe.gov. North Carolina State Board of Elections . Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  2. ↑ "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Fontana Village". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  4. ↑ Ellison, Quintin (June 22, 2011). "New town of Fontana Dam springs up in the middle of nowhere". Smoky Mountain News . Retrieved March 11, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Archived from the original on May 7, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  8. ↑ https://www.fontanavillage.com/our-village
  9. ↑ United States Postal Service (2012). "USPS - Look Up a ZIP Code" . Retrieved February 15, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Postmaster Finder - Post Offices by ZIP Code". United States Postal Service. Archived from the original on April 28, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2013.
  11. ↑ Ellison, Quintin (January 5, 2012). "Fontana Dam gets a temporary reprieve from post office closure". Smoky Mountain News. Retrieved March 11, 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.