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This is our Area Information Page. Here you will learn more about Carter County, Johnson County, the beautiful Watauga Lake, Watauga Dam and other information to help you decide if this beautiful community is right for you.
You can also find more information about our schools, local businesses, local utilities, lodging, dining, financing, builders, fun activities in our community and the surrounding areas and much more on our Links Page.
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Watauga Lake
Located east of Elizabethton and southwest of Mountain City Tennessee, Watauga Lake is stunning beauty on a large scale! With a surface area of 34,200 acres and more than 106 miles of shoreline including some 2 miles of island shoreline. Much of Watauga Lake's shoreline is forever protected by the surrounding Cherokee National Forest and flanked by the Appalachian Mountains.
While the actual meaning of the word Watauga is not exactly known, it is believed that the word "Watauga" is a Native American (likely Cherokee) term meaning beautiful waters.
Beautiful waters is an apt description of Watauga Lake. While we could not confirm this fact, it has been reported that Watauga Lake is the third cleanest lake in the United States. Whether that is true or not, it is easy for visitors to see that Watauga Lake is a beautiful and clean lake. The waters of the Watauga support thirteen different species of game fish including rainbow and brown trout, walleye, small and large mouth bass just to name a few. Below the Watauga Dam the Watauga's waters also nurture a wildlife observation area where visitors have a chance to view unique species of waterfowl.
Watauga Lake is also a haven for recreational use! Surrounded by the Cherokee National Forest and not far from the Appalachian Trail, the Watauga Lake area is ideal for hiking, horseback riding, motor boating, kayaking, camping, hunting, fishing, water sports, picnicing, auto & cycle tours, site seeing and much more!
Watauga, with all it's natural beauty is actually a man made lake formed from what was formerly the town of Butler Tn, in that it is a reservoir created by the Watauga Dam, which is 318 feet high, and 900 feet long and is located on the Watauga River mile marker 36.7 in Carter County. The reservoir created, known as Watauga Lake, is 16.3 miles long.
Come see for yourself one of the most beautiful lakes in the United States, then you will understand why we are so passionate about living here!
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Watauga Lake
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Watauga Dam
Construction of the dam began February 16, 1942, however was deferred by order of WPB on December 21, 1942 when resources were diverted for wartime building efforts. Work on the dam resumed on July 22, 1946, and the gates were closed on December 31, 1948 creating the Watauga Reservoir.
Watauga Dam is 318 feet high, and 900 feet long and is located on the Watauga River mile marker 36.7 in Carter County. The reservoir it creates is 16.3 miles long.
The construction of the Watauga Lake Project required 10,274,559 man hours of labor, cost 1 man his life, and 48 injuries during the construction process. The project caused the relocation of 761 families and the removal of 1,281 grave sites.
The reservoir was built specifically for the purpose of flood control, but is also used for power generation. Watauga Lake has 2 enclosed water-cooled generators manufactured by Westinghouse Electric Corporation.
Watauga Lake is the highest reservoir in the Tennessee River system at more than 1,900 feet above sea level.
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Watauga Dam
Butler Bridge
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About Johnson County
Johnson County is nestled in the beautiful mountains of extreme northeastern Tennessee. It joins Virginia on the north and North Carolina on the east and south. For many years before white settlers arrived, Native American people including the Cherokee, the Creeks and the Yuchi used the area as a hunting and burial ground. Evidence of prehistoric Indians including the "mound builders" have been found. When the first English speaking settlers arrived in this area looking for a new or better life, it was still part of the colony of North Carolina which included land from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi. These early settlers came in defiance of the English King's Proclamation Line that prohibited settlements west of the mountains because of the danger from the Indians and because the government could not provide adequate control, protection, and other government services. The first settlers here were mostly English but included many other groups including Scotch-Irish and Germans. The first settlement in what was to be Tennessee was at Trade. The first recorded settler of Johnson County was John Honeycutt whose home was on Roan Creek near Butler. Daniel Boone visited him in 1770 and James Robertson also visited Honeycutt on his way to the Watauga Settlement. Mr. Robertson is known as "The Father of Tennessee".
Johnson County was created from parts of Carter County in 1836; Carter County was formed in 1796 from Washington County. As a result, the early history of Johnson County is entwined with that of Washington and Carter counties. The Watauga Association, the first free and independent government on the American continent, was created at Sycamore Shoals near Elizabethton in 1772.....
This text was taken from the web site of the Johnson County Chamber of Commerce. If you would like to learn more about the history of Johnson County Tennessee we encourage you to visit their web site at: Johnson County Chamber of Commerce.
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About Carter County
In 1772, these settlers along the Watauga River (commonly referred to as "Overmountain Men" because of their deliberate defiance of a British mandate restricting them from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains) established the Watauga Association, the first majority-rule system of American Government. This "constitution" outlined the organization of government, which consisted of a court made up of five elected magistrates. This court conducted government business, overseeing all executive, judicial, and legislative matters. The first five commissioners are unknown, but speculation holds that the court was made up of some combination of John Carter (who was likely the first chairman), James Robertson, Charles Robertson, Zachariah Isbell, John Sevier and Jacob Brown.
For about two years, general peace and order prevailed in the Watauga Settlement, before lawlessness and Indian attacks disrupted the peace of the community. In 1775, land speculator Richard Henderson met with Cherokee leaders at Sycamore Shoals to negotiate the Transylvania Purchase, the largest private land deal in American History. In this exchange, Henderson and the settlers gained ownership of 20 million acres of land or, in other words, "all the lands of the Cumberland Watershed and extending to the Kentucky River."
Shortly thereafter, the Overmountain Men took an interest in the American Revolution. In fact, the year 1780 brought one of the defining moments of Carter Countians and led to the general acceptance of Tennessee's nickname, "The Volunteer State.".......
This text was taken from the web site Carter County Tennessee.com. If you would like to learn more about the history of Carter County Tennessee we encourage you to visit their web site at: Carter County Tennessee.com.
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Late fall, morning sun on Watauga Lake
Watauga Lake near the Watauga River |
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Benchmark One Realty, Inc. © 2007 All Rights Reserved
511 South Shady Street • Mountain City, Tennessee 37683
tf: 866-922-0067 • ph: 423-727-0067 • fx: 423-727-0089 (This office is independently owned and operated)
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