Join The Friends of the National
Archives SE Region!

Science and technology

RG 142 - Tennessee Valley Authority
 

RG 142 - Tennessee Valley Authority

Administers a unified program of resource conservation, development, and use in the Tennessee River Valley. Encourages the economic development of the region.

Agricultural Relations

Correspondence

This series contains correspondence regarding the development and management of agricultural resources, farming methods, fertilizer development, and soil conservation.
Correspondence Files

This series contains correspondence regarding the development and management of agricultural resources, farming methods, fertilizer development, and soil conservation.
Engineering, Design, and Construction

Construction Progress Negatives

These photographs record all major stages of construction from site selection through completion of construction on Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) fossil, hydro, nuclear, and coal gasification projects. In addition to construction negatives, general activities of people, places and events including portraits, pictures of dedication ceremonies, general managers, presentations, and other similar subjects are included.
Wilson Dam Construction Photographs

This series contains 256 photographs documenting various stages of the construction of Wilson Dam.
General Manager and Board of Directors

Administrative Files

This series consists of correspondence accumulated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) General Manager's Office. Frequently, memoranda, authorizations, periodic reports, informational publications, newspaper clippings, speeches, press releases, and other records are filed among the correspondence. Records contain information on administrative and program concerns such as legislation and legal matters affecting TVA, budget and finance, personnel, agency organization, and various administrative recommendations and decisions. This series includes correspondence to and from federal agencies, members of the U.S. Congress, private companies and organizations, state and private universities, foreign countries, Tennessee River Valley residents, and the general public. Federal government entities involved in the correspondence include, but are not limited to, the War Labor Board, Office of the Chief of Engineers, Civil Conservation Corps, General Services Administration, National Resources Planning Board, Office of Price Administration, Office of Economic Warfare, Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service. Topics and TVA programs referenced in this series include, but are not limited to, rural electrification, agricultural chemical production and utilization, natural resources, chemical engineering, power resources and production, and agriculture cooperatives, among others. Records pertain to communities impacted by the following TVA dam projects: Norris, Wheeler, Wilson, Pickwick, Guntersville, Chickamauga, Gilbertsville, Watts Bar, Fort Loudoun, Hales Bar, Cherokee, Hiwassee, and Great Falls, among others.
  • RG 142 - Administrative Files[Download PDF]

    • Board of Directors Minutes

    This series consists of minutes containing the official record of discussions held and actions taken during Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Board of Directors meetings. The minutes document the decisions and accomplishments of the TVA Board of Directors. The minutes date from the first TVA Board Meeting held at the Willard Hotel in Washington D.C. on June 16, 1933. Although these records are copies, they contain original signatures.

  • RG 142 - Project Histories and Reports[Download PDF]

    • Lewis Hine Photographs

    In 1933, after submitting an outline for an introductory photographic survey of Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) projects, Lewis W. Hine was hired to do a one month (10/20/33-11/26/33) assignment in East Tennessee. Although he was quite pleased with the initial results of this assignment, Hine was unable to continue along the same lines because the TVA preferred that he instead photograph charts, plans, and installations. This series consists of the original photographic negatives and corresponding modern prints of mountaineer families forced to vacate their homes and lands because of the construction of Norris Dam, rock drilling at the dam site, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers, industries in Kingsport, and examples of local folk crafts and culture.

  • RG 142 - Lewis Hine Photographs[Download Excel Spreadsheet]

    • Lilienthal's Correspondence Files

    This series consists of correspondence files created by David E. Lilienthal's office during his time as a Director of the Tennessee Valley Authority. The files cover such topics as, but are not limited to, agriculture, aluminum production for the War Department, flood control, electricity, land use planning, malaria, land reclamation, soil conservation, river engineering and surveys, power production, dam construction, and consumer power rates.

  • RG 142 - Lilienthal Correspondence Files[Download Excel Spreadsheet]
Reservoir Properties

Family Removal and Population Readjustment Case Files

This series consists of case histories and family surveys which demonstrate the land ownership, income, expenditures, agricultural commodity production, and overall lifestyle of individuals affected by the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) acquisition of land for dam and power production projects. The information provided by each case file varies among TVA projects and ranges from very detailed forms to brief coded cards. The files may mention social service and community groups, which assisted often in TVA relocation efforts. Dam projects, reservoirs, and lakes referenced in this series include Appalachia, Boone, Chatuge, Cherokee, Chickamauga, Fort Patrick Henry, Fort Loudon, Guntersville, Hiwassee, John Sevier Steam Plant, Norris, Nottely, Pickwick, South Holston, Watauga, Watts Bar, and Wheeler.
Resource group

Cemetery Relocation Files

This series consists primarily of permits granting consent from the family of the deceased for disinterment and relocation and witnessed documentation regarding the contents of each grave upon disinterment. Disinterment documentation usually contains the deceased's birth date, cause of death, grave marker inscriptions, and closest family member at the time of death. The name of the deceased's new cemetery, new grave site number, and new grave markers are included if applicable. This series also contains cemetery data for each Tennessee Valley Authority project. Cemetery data may include maps of cemeteries and surrounding land, photographs of cemeteries and cemetery monuments, and photographs of grave excavations. Additionally, legal documentation pertaining to the disinterment of individuals and the use of land for cemeteries is included often to verify procedures used in grave and cemetery removal operations. Official correspondence and interoffice memoranda concerning removal procedures is included with supporting documentation by project when available.
River System and Environment

Historic Photograph collection

This series contains photographs which chronicle the development and growth of the Tennessee Valley Authority. These photographs depict the construction of dams, housing projects, Tennessee Valley Authority employees, and promotional flyers.

HAVE A QUESTION?

Ask an archivist by emailing the National Archives your questions!

atlanta.archives@nara.gov

Frequently Asked Questions

FOLLOW US:

Archives.gov