Wilbur Dam facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wilbur Dam |
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| Location | Carter County, Tennessee, United States |
| Coordinates | 36°20′28″N 82°07′34″W / 36.34106°N 82.12624°W |
| Opening date | 1912 |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Impounds | Watauga River |
| Height | 77 feet (23 m) |
| Length | 375 feet (114 m) |
| Power station | |
| Installed capacity | 10,700 kilowatts |
Wilbur Dam is a cool hydroelectric dam on the Watauga River in Carter County, Tennessee. It's one of two dams on this river managed by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The dam creates Wilbur Lake, which goes for about 3 miles (4.8 km) up to Watauga Dam. Wilbur Dam was finished in 1912, making it one of the oldest dams in the TVA system! It was also one of the first big projects in Tennessee to make electricity from water.
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Wilbur Dam: Powering Homes with Water
What is Wilbur Dam?
Wilbur Dam is a special type of dam made of concrete. It stands 77 feet (23 m) tall and is 375 feet (114 m) long. This dam can make 10,700 kilowatts of electricity. That's enough power for many homes! The dam also has a spillway with four gates. These gates can release a lot of water, about 34,000 cubic feet (960 m³) every second. The dam is located a few miles upstream from Elizabethton, Tennessee.
How Wilbur Dam Was Built
In 1907, a company called Doe River Light & Power started buying land to build Wilbur Dam. They had some money problems, so in 1910, another company, Watauga Power Company, took over. Watauga Power finished building the dam in just two years! They found a great market for the dam's electricity in nearby Elizabethton.
In 1927, the dam was sold again to the Tennessee Central Service Company. This company later changed its name to East Tennessee Light & Power Company. In August 1940, a big flood went over the dam and damaged its power station. Five years later, in 1945, the East Tennessee Light & Power Company sold Wilbur Dam to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).
Wilbur Dam Today
When it was first built, Wilbur Dam had a spillway that used flashboards to control water. In 1947, the TVA updated the dam. They added a new spillway with gates that could be controlled. They also made the dam 5 feet (1.5 m) taller. This change helped the dam work better with the water levels from the nearby Watauga Dam, which was being finished around that time. Wilbur Dam continues to be an important part of the TVA's system for making clean electricity.
