FLORENCE-Mayor Steve Holt, Pat Burney, Bicentennial Committee Chair, and the Florence Historical Board invite the public to attend the unveiling of two historical markers on Friday, September 14, 2018, at 11:00 a.m. The markers to be unveiled are: Muscle Shoals Canals and Wilson Dam. The unveiling ceremony will be held in McFarland Park, on the west side of the entrance to the Florence Harbor near the Tennessee River. The Muscle Shoals Canals marker will be permanently installed at that location, which is the westernmost point of the early Muscle Shoals Canals. To be unveiled at the same location, the Wilson Dam marker will be permanently installed at the north end of Wilson Dam immediately following the ceremony.
On March 12, 1818, the Articles of Association was signed by seven trustees of the newly-organized Cypress Land Company. The Association was organized for the purpose of establishing a new town that would become the county seat for Lauderdale County and would be located at the head of navigation on the Tennessee River. The company purchased 5,515 acres at the land sales in Huntsville. At that time, Florence was an isolated wilderness on a hilltop overlooking the Tennessee River. In the summer of 1818, John Coffee designed and supervised the surveying of the city of Florence. The first public land sales actually in Florence were during the period July 22-26, 1818.
A major factor considered in the selection of the site for Florence was the navigation potential of the Tennessee River. However, there were major obstacles in using the river for navigation beyond Florence. In a distance of 37 miles, from Florence to Browns Ferry, east of Rogersville, the river dropped 137 feet and was referred to as “The Muscle Shoals.” These shoals were created by waterfalls, rapids, sinks and islands. These barriers basically divided the river into the lower and upper Tennessee River.
Early plans implemented by the State of Alabama for circumventing the formidable barriers called for constructing a lateral canal around them on the north side of the river from Florence to Lamb’s Ferry, south of Rogersville. This, the first Muscle Shoals Canal, had 17 locks. Construction began in early 1831 and the canal was opened in 1836. Because of problems in maintaining the canal, it was abandoned in 1838.
Surveying and planning for a second Muscle Shoals Canal began by the U.S. Corps of Engineers in 1871 and construction began in 1875. The first Muscle Shoals Canal was widened and the original 17 locks were reduced to nine. Three more locks were added, one at Colbert Shoals, south of Florence; and Locks A and B around the Elk River Shoals, south of the mouth of Elk River. The second Muscle Shoals Canal was opened on November 10, 1890. It continued to operate until construction of the Wilson Dam began in April 1918, with over 27 years of service.
The National Defense Act of 1916 provided for the construction of Wilson Dam. It was constructed by the U.S. Corps of Engineers during the period 1918 to 1924. The generating of electricity began in September 1925. Wilson Lock, constructed on the northern end of Wilson Dam, opened to commercial navigation on June 1, 1927. In 1933, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) assumed control of Wilson Dam. In later years, it built eight other dams on the Tennessee River, opening a navigation waterway from Paducah, KY, to Knoxville, TN, a distance of 652 miles.
Meia Release/Offfice of Florence Mayor Steve Holt
