Norris Tennessee
“A National Historic City”
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Town of Norris TN
The town of Norris is located in Anderson county in the Tennessee Blue Ridge Mountains. Norris was built as a model planned community by the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1933 to house workers while they built the Norris Dam on the Clinch River. Norris is a woodland oasis in the surrounding area of Knoxville TN.
The town and the lake offer many activities such as hiking trails, horseback riding, ATV trails, biking, fishing, boating, water sports, marinas, shopping, the Appalachian Arts Center, breweries, and museums. To enjoy your adventure stay with us at one of the local hotels, campgrounds, cabin rentals or bed and breakfast.
History of Norris TN
The town of Norris was named in honor of Nebraska Senator George W Norris, a supporter of the TVA. The Norris Dam is 1,860 feet long and 265 feet high and is just over 33,000 acres of water and 810 miles of shoreline. During the 1930s and !940s the TVA built and took care of “Norris for 15 yrs. After World War II, the government decided to sell the town at auction. In 1948, Henry David Epstein bought the town for 2.1 million and the town was chartered in 1949.
Norris was an ideal and planned community that is used today in urban planning but created back in 1933. Norris was purposely set 20 miles North of Knoxville a major city and was built to house workers for the dam four miles away. The other reason Norris was created was to show America that Cooperative living actually works. The homes were modest and built out of stone and cedar and there was a porch on every house. Norris homes would also be fully electric with ceiling heat and refrigerators back in 1933; which was very modern for its time. The community was walk-able and able to function without getting into a car. The town was also surrounded by a dense undeveloped forest.
