Pre-1800 - 1800s - 1900s - 1920s - 1930s - 1940s - 1950s
-
1960s - 1970s - 1980s - 1990s
1500s |
|
1540 | Spanish explorer De Soto traveled the length of the Coosa and at least part of the Alabama River |
1650 – 1763 | French and English navigated the Alabama, Coosa, and Tallapoosa seeking to dominate trade with Indians and European outposts |
1717 | Fort Toulouse built by French near confluence of Coosa and Tallapoosa |
1763 | Treaty of Paris ceded ACT Basin territories to England |
1775 | First settlers, other than trappers and traders, arrived |
1775 – 1783 | England, Spain, and the American colonies contended for control of area |
1783 | English influence waned after defeat by colonists |
1795 | Spain surrendered claims to Americas |
1795 – 1840 | Increased population demanded more supplies and goods
|
1800s |
|
1819 | Alabama entered the Union |
1821 | Steamboat Harriet made first trip from Mobile to Montgomery |
1823 | Alabama Legislature established The Coosa Navigation Company
|
1826 | Congress appropriates $10,000 for improvements to Mobile Harbor |
1827 | Corps of Engineers made first survey of Coosa “to improve the navigation” and “its connection with the Tennessee waters.” |
1842 | First steamboat on the Upper Coosa
|
1864 | Captain Cummins Lay piloted steamer Laura Moore across rapids of Lower Coosa at high water to Mobile in escape from Union forces at Rome
|
1865 – 1900 | Steamboat traffic is impacted due to rail and road improvements
|
1866 | Captain Cummins Lay piloted Laura Moore from Wetumpka through rapids and shoals of Lower Coosa to Greensport and on to Rome
|
1867 | State Legislature authorized a survey of the Coosa from the state line to Wetumpka to determine if the river could be made navigable
|
1870 – 1872 | Federal survey of Coosa recommended 31 low-lift dams
|
1871 | Survey of potential 50-mile canal, five feet deep, between Guntersville and Gadsden kept dream alive of a connection with the Tennessee River
|
1875 | Revised Alabama Constitution prohibited state from making internal improvements of any kind, including to the locks and dams |
1876 | Rivers and Harbors Act commited to build dams and a four-foot channel from Rome to Wetumpka
|
1877 – 1880 | Improvements to Upper Coosa between Rome and Greensport improved commercial traffic |
1878 | 4-foot channel in Alabama River from mouth to Wetumpka authorized |
1879 | Congress approved construction of dams and locks 1, 2, and 3 below Greensport |
1886 | Locks 1,2, and 3 essentially completed
Dam near Riverside, Alabama completed |
1887 | Convention in Montgomery to organize efforts for continued Congressional support of navigation on the Coosa and Alabama Rivers. William Patrick Lay conceived idea of harnessing water flow to produce electricity |
1890 | Coosa-Alabama River Improvement Association founded in Gadsden
Locks 1,2, and 3 opened to navigation Federal government approved $300,000 for work on Coosa, including Lock 31 at Wetumpka |
1891 | Work began on walls, floor, and sills of Wetumpka Lock 31 |
1892 | Lock 4 completed. |
1896 | Wetumpka Lock 31 walls finished, but work halted until upstream navigation channel can be assured
6-foot channel authorized for Alabama River |
1899 | William Patrick Lay publishes a memorial for construction of high dams to provide navigation and hydropower on Coosa |
1900s |
|
1905 | Federal Board of Engineers declared cost of building proposed locks and dams on Coosa did not justify the investment |
1906 | William Patrick Lay founded the Alabama Power Company in Gadsden with $5000 in capital |
1907 | Federal authorization to build first high power dam at site of Lock 12 |
1909 – 1910 | Corps of Engineers survey recommended construction of high dams to improve navigation, develop potential water power, and exact measures of flood control |
1910 – 1914 | Alabama Power Company constructed first dam at site of Lock 12 near Clanton |
1910 | Mayo’s Bar Lock near Rome, Georgia authorized
A lock in the Riverside Dam, another dam near Riverside authorized |
1913 | Mayo’s Bar Lock completed |
1914 | Lock at existing Riverside Dam completed |
1921 | Construction began on dam at Duncan’s Riffle near Verbena (Named Mitchell Dam) |
1923 | Mitchell Dam completed near Verbena
Construction began on dam at Cherokee Bluff near Dadeville (Named Martin Dam) Alabama Legislature established State Docks Commission |
1924 | Work began on improving Mobile Docks |
1926 | Martin Dam completed near Dadeville
Work began on dam atop Devil’s Staircase near Wetumpka (later named Jordan Dam) |
1927 | Construction began on Yates Dam on the Tallapoosa at the site of the first hydroelectric generating plant supplying electricity to MontgomeryFirst steamship vessel to use Mobile State Docks arrived |
1928 | Jordan Dam completed near Wetumpka
Work began on Thurlow Dam at the site of an old textile mill on the Tallapoosa |
1929 | Dam at lock 12 named in honor of William Patrick Lay |
1930 | Thurlow Dam completed near Tallassee |
1934 | Corps of Engineers report recommended a system of locks and dams on the Alabama River and on the Coosa River above existing dams
|
1941 | Flood Control Act authorizes construction of Allatoona Dam and Reservoir |
1945 | Rivers and Harbors Act authorized development of Coosa and Alabama Rivers for navigation, flood control, power development |
1950 | Allatoona Dam completed |
1954 | Public Law 436
|
1955 | Coosa-Alabama River Improvement Association incorporated in Montgomery |
1958 | Alabama Power Company began construction of dam at Leesburg, near Centre in Cherokee County (Later named Weiss Dam) |
1960 | House Document 320, 86th Congress
Alabama Power Company began construction of dam near Vincent (Later named Logan Martin Dam) |
1961 | Weiss Dam completed |
1962 | Alabama Power Company began construction of dam at site of old lock 3, just below Greensport (Later named H. Neely Henry Dam)Federal government began construction of Carters Lake Dam |
1963 | Alabama Power Company began construction on Walter Bouldin Dam on a canal between Jordan Reservoir and the Coosa below WetumpkaFederal government began construction of Miller’s Ferry Lock and Dam near Camden |
1964 | Logan Martin Dam completed |
1965 | Appalachian Report – Among other things, did the following
Federal government began construction of Claiborne Lock and Dam in Monroe County |
1966 | H. Neely Henry Dam completed
Federal government began construction of Jones Bluff Lock and Dam |
1967 | Walter Bouldin Dam completed
Alabama Power redevelopment of Lay Dam raised reservoir by 14 feet |
1969 | Claiborne Lock and Millers Ferry Lock opened to navigation |
1970 | Hydroelectric power first generated at Millers Ferry |
1972 | Jones Bluff Lock opened to navigation |
1973 | Economic Restudy of Coosa Navigation Project
|
1974 | Alabama Power began construction of Harris Dam near Lineville |
1975 | Dike at Bouldin Dam breaks and powerhouse floodedHydroelectric power first generated at Jones Bluff |
1977 | Revised Economic Study
Carters Lake Dam completed |
1980 | Walter Bouldin power generation back on line |
1982 | Jones Bluff Lock and Dam renamed in honor of Robert F. Henry, Sr. |
1983 | Congress placed Coosa Navigation Project on indefinite hold
Harris Dam completed |
1985 | Congress authorized deepening of Mobile Bay Channel to 55 feet, but channel remains at 45 feet |
1986 | Congress modified Coosa River Navigation Project (Montgomery to Gadsden) to allow planning, engineering, and design only |
1989 | Corps of Engineers drew up plans to divert water from North Georgia sources (including the Etowah River) to the Atlanta area to meet growing metropolitan needs |
1990 | State of Alabama sued Corps of Engineers to stop diversion of water to Atlanta pending analysis of water resource demands and supply |
1991 | By executive order, governor established the Alabama Office of Water Resources |
1992 | Congress authorized a joint study of water resources in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida |
1993 | Alabama Water Resources Act officially established Office of Water Resources |
1997 | States of Alabama, Georgia, and Florida approve Interstate Water Compact to work toward shared use of water resources |