The town of Old Harrison sits beneath Harrison Bay – Then and Now

In the early 1800s, the first European settlers came to the Hamilton County area. One of the first settlements was the town of Harrison, which became the County Seat of Hamilton County.

After the civil war, Chattanooga became a railroad hub, and the county seat moved to Chattanooga. The town of Harrison remained as an agricultural town.

But Hamilton County had a problem. The Tennessee river frequently flooded, causing tremendous damage to the low-lying areas near the river.

In the 1930’s, president Franklin Roosevelt approved the construction of the Chickamauga Dam by the Tennessee Valley Authority. This would solve the problem of flooding downstream, and generate electricity… but areas upstream like Harrison would be flooded.

Very few photos of Old Harrison exist outside of survey photos taken by the TVA.

The Chickamauga dam was completed in 1940. You can see the massive difference its construction made on the area when you examine USGS maps. Harrison was put completely under water. The tops of hills became islands. Chickamauga Island completely disappeared. Waconda lake became Waconda Bay.

Highway 58 was diverted to follow the new shoreline. The town of old Harrison became Harrison Bay State Park.

What happened to the residents of old Harrison? The Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 gave the government the power to claim eminent domain over areas which would be flooded. The property owners were compensated with what the government called a “fair market price”. They moved away and moved on.

To this day, you can still see the relics of Old Harrison. When the water is low, chimneys and even gravestones emerge from the murky abyss.

The town of old Harrison still lies beneath the waters of the bay.