By DONNA THORNTON, Editor
The Guntersville Museum and Cultural Center will continue its celebration of America250 with an exhibit that examines a big event in local history: The Tennessee Valley Authority’s construction of the Guntersville Dam and the making of Guntersville Lake.
It’s the latest part of a series that began last July 4, with an exhibit of about the First Amendment. “Then we did one about moonshiners in Marshall County,” Museum Director Sara Elizabeth Phillips said — a project other museums in the county participated in. Currently, the museum has Art on the Lake, which touches on the region’s art and culture.
“Now, as we’re looking toward America’s 250th, we figured that the TVA’s making of our lake is our place in history,” she said. “Most history books in American schools will mention the TVA very specifically. It’s probably the most famous New Deal program.”
A lot of people, even if they aren’t from this area, Phillips said, they’ve heard of the TVA but they don’t necessarily know what they did and why.
The impact of that New Deal project continues.
“It literally changed our geography,” Phillips said. “We went from having a lot more farmland. The river was about 2 miles wide when it hugged Gunter’s Landing. Now it’s 69,000 acres. So, it’s a big change.
“It’s a big change. Guntersville is now a peninsula,” she said. “The goal is to tie that into the broader American story. This is our part in history.
The exhibit has a soft opening for museum members Thursday from 5-7 p.m. The reception, Phillips said, is a way to thank the people who have contributed to the museum and to show them “how we have used their contributions to make museum magic happen.”
Friday, the exhibit will be open for the public to visit throughout the summer.
Museum admission is free, and hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, and 1-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The museum is located in the old Guntersville Armory building at 1215 Rayburn Ave. It was constructed in 1936 under the Works Progress Administration.
The exhibit will have some items that Phillips does not believe have ever been on display — at least not in her tenure here. The museum is about 33 years old, she said, and it’s possible the items were shown in the earliest days.
“We’ve got some items that were donated by people that worked on the project. We’ve got some hand saws,” she said noting that the lake area was cleared with huge two-man hand saws. “I don’t think they’ve been on display before. That’s just a fundamental part of the story. It’s interesting, especially to kids, to think of a time (when) there was no lake, there was no electricity and by the way, you had to used saws and machetes. There were no Bobcats. It was just teams of men and mules to move all that matter.”
A photo at the Guntersville Museum and Legacy Center shows the George Houston Bridge in 1938, before the completion of the Guntersville Dam that backed up the Tennessee River and created Guntersville Lake. The museum at 1215 Rayburn Ave. has an exhibition on the TVA construction of the dam and its impact on the area. SPECIAL TO THE LEADER
