Fort Loudon Dam and Tellico Dam are both located on US 321 at Lenoir City, Tennessee. They are located just one mile apart. HWY I-40 and I-75 provide easy access from all directions to both Fort Loudon and Tellico Dams. These dams were constructed by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for the purpose of electric power, flood control, navigation, recreation, an adequate supply of water and other related benefits. Tellico and Fort Loudon lakes depend on each other to achieve these purposes.
Fort Loudon Reservoir and Dam
Fort Loudon was the first of these two dams to be constructed, which began July 8, 1940 and was completed July, 1944. The filling of the reservoir began August 2, 1943. The initial cost of the construction was $36,209,067.11 with a total cost today of $41,000,000. The construction of the Fort Loudon Dam took 582,000 cubic yards of concrete. The entire Fort Loudon project required 19,519,000 man hours to complete with 13,746,000 of the man hours used on the construction of the dam itself.
Fort Loudon Dam is 125 feet high and 4,190 feet long and is the uppermost dam of the mainstream of the Tennessee River. Fort Loudon Dam also has a lock from Watts Bar Lake to Fort Loudon Lake that raises boats and barges an elevation of up to 80 feet. The lock itself is 360 feet by 60 feet. Fort Loudon lock carries a half million tons of cargo yearly.
Fort Loudon lake was named for the nearby Fort Loudon from the colonial days. The lake is 55 miles long and has a total of 360 miles of shoreline, with a total of 14,600 acres of surface area. The watershed (which is the area of land providing drainage to the reservoir) covers 9,555 square miles. The main tributaries for Fort Loudon lake are the Holston River, French Broad River, and Little Tennessee River. The counties surrounding the lake include Loudon, Blount and Knox County.
Fort Loudon Lake offers a variety of water activities including boating, fishing, waterskiing, jetskiing, swimming, camping, public parks, public access areas and much more. More than 2 million visitors a year come to Fort Loudon lake.
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