Archive Exhibit Tells TN River's History

TENNESSEE RIVER IN LIMESTONE COUNTY FEATURED IN EXHIBIT
AT LIMESTONE COUNTY ARCHIVES

​ATHENS, Ala. – In 1966, barges began landing on the same muddy Tennessee River bank in Limestone County where natives once fished and where a man named Brown once ferried passengers across the river, to unload supplies to build what at that time would be the world’s largest nuclear power plant, the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant.

Photos from the Limestone County Archives collection of that building process from...

---

... 1966 to 1972, along with mentions of the river in Limestone County’s historic records, complement “The Tennessee River and Northwest Alabama” traveling exhibit on display now through Jan. 18, 2019, in the Limestone County Archives exhibits space.

“It is fascinating to see the impact that the river has always had on life in Limestone County, and how the use and the role of the river has changed over time,” said Limestone County Archivist Rebekah Davis.

“This exhibit makes a great use of historic photos and information to highlight these changes, and we are delighted to host it at the Limestone County Archives.”

The exhibit and companion book track the history of the Tennessee River in northwest Alabama from the earliest people who lived in the area through European settlement, the Civil War, Muscle Shoals nitrate facilities, TVA, and to the present. The exhibit is sponsored by Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area (MSNHA), the Alabama Humanities Foundation, the National Park Service, and the University of North Alabama.

Authored by Carolyn Barske Crawford, MSNHA director, and Brian Murphy, curator at the Florence Indian Mound Museum, the book, “The Tennessee River and Northwest Alabama,” is available for purchase at the Limestone County Archives while the exhibit is on display. Copies are $24 each, and
proceeds benefit the MSNHA.

---

---

102 West Washington Street, Athens AL