Record #:

36480

Author(s):

Abstract:

Fontana Village’s lake is widely known as an appealing spot for fishers, boaters, hikers, and nature lovers. As for lesser-known aspect of Fontana Village, an example may be the origin of its dam. Constructed by local workers during WWII, Fontana Dam was an energy source for the secret atomic bomb mission research conducted at Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Source:

The Laurel of Asheville (NoCar F 264 .A8 L28), Vol. 13 Issue 5, May 2016, p118 Periodical Website

Subject(s):

Fontana Dam; Fontana Lake; World War (1939-1945); Atomic bomb; Fontana Village; Fontana--History; Manhattan Project

Record #:

20932

Author(s):

Jabbour, Alan

Abstract:

With the completion of Fontana Dam, a number of families were removed in 1943 from the part of the lake that came to be known as the North Shore. Part of their folk tradition was Decoration Day, or cleaning and decorating graves of family or soldiers. The people were promised an access road to the twenty-seven cemeteries after the war, and several sections were built. In the 1960s construction ceased. Jabbour recounts the work of Helen Cable Vance, her sister Mildred Cable Johnson, and the North Shore Historical Association in leading the movement to make access to the graves a reality.

Source:

North Carolina Folklore Journal (NoCar GR 110 N8 N6), Vol. 57 Issue 2, Fall/Win 2010, p22-28, por Periodical Website

Subject(s):

Fontana Lake; Decoration Day; Cemeteries--Swain County

Record #:

7652

Author(s):

Igelman, Jack

Abstract:

On the north shore of Fontana Lake lie 250,000 acres of Great Smoky Mountains National Park that are accessible only by boat. Few places in the park remain as remote, and the area is prized by fishermen, environmentalists, and others who appreciate its solitude. When the dam was completed in 1944, Swain County residents were promised a road to the homesteads made inaccessible by the dam. A seven-mile portion was built between 1948 and 1972, then construction stopped. A two-year environmental impact statement which will be finished in 2006 by the National Park Service will decide the fate of the area and the road. Igelman gives reasons for the region's popularity and the options available to the park to satisfy the 1943 agreement.

Source:

Wildlife in North Carolina (NoCar SK 431 W54x), Vol. 70 Issue 2, Feb 2006, p4-9, il, map Periodical Website

Subject(s):

Great Smoky Mountains National Park (N.C. and Tenn.); Roads--North Carolina, Western; Fontana Lake