Support sought to save dam, powerhouse

The old power house and Duck River dam in downtown Shelbyville are listed among Tennesse's most endangered historic sites. (T-G Photo by Brian Mosely) [Order this photo]

The Tennessee Preservation Trust has listed the power house and the Duck River dam in Shelbyville as one of the top ten endangered historic sites in the state.

Each year since 2001, the trust has issued its annual "Ten in Tennessee" list based on nominations from the public. Officials say the list "highlights urban and rural sites across the state to elicit public support for saving threatened historic resources."

Group effort

Lynn Hulan nominated the Shelbyville power house on behalf of Shelbyville Historic Zoning Commission.

"I was very pleased that it was included on the list," said Hulan, who hopes that the publicity might help stimulate interest in restoring and preserving the facility.

Crowds notice

Last weekend's floods brought many spectators to Fisherman's Park, not to see the dam itself but the water surging over it.

"All of a sudden, people are stopping and looking," said Hulan.

The trust says the power house next to the dam, and near a portion of the Shelbyville greenway, is "abandoned and open to vandalism," according to TPT.

Powered down

TPT says the site was built around 1915 as an electrical power generating facility. "There were in fact several dams along the Duck River that produced power for the towns in the Duck River Watershed," according to a TPT press release. Tennessee Electric Power Company acquired the site in 1929. Tennessee Valley Authority acquired the site in 1939 and operated it until 1948. TVA stopped using the facility for electrical power and sold it to the City of Shelbyville in November 1950.

Teaching tool

Hulan said she'd like to see the power house used as an educational tool, an exhibit on the history of power generation. Perhaps, she said, the facility could even serve to generate some small amount of power as a demonstration project, and could even be equipped with solar panels.

But restoring the building will take money in an era when money is scarce.

"Money, of course, is a big problem," she said.

She said the city, the Duck River Agency, TVA, the Nature Conservancy and the Tennessee Historical Commission might be players in a "powerhouse partnership for the power house."

The first step, she said, is deciding what to do.

"There needs to be a plan," she said.

Statewide focus

The Tennessee Preservation Trust is a member-supported, non-profit, statewide historic preservation advocacy and educational organization based in Nashville. It is the statewide partner for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, based in Washington, D.C.

The other nine sites named to TPT's "Ten in Tennessee" list:

* Hufstedler Cemetery/Pinckney's Tomb, Linden, Perry County.

* Graham-Kivette House, Tazewell, Claiborne County.

* Rippavilla Plantation Slave House, Spring Hill, Maury County.

* Dickson County Courthouse, Charlotte, Dickson County.

* Niota Depot, Niota, McMinn County.

* Kingston Springs Hotel Complex, Kingston Springs, Cheatham County.

* Columbia Train Depot, Columbia, Maury County.

* Knoxville College, Knoxville, Knox County.

* Temple Avenue Neighborhood, Knoxville, Knox County.

Past sites on the "Ten in Tennessee" list include the York Institute in Jamestown; the Spring Hill battlefield in Maury County; and the Clarksville development district.

On the web

Tennessee Preservation Trust:

tennesseepreservationtrust.org