Chattanooga and Tennessee Electric Power Company
business
The Chattanooga and Tennessee Electric Power Company was formed in 1905 by Josephus C. Guild, Charles E. James and Anthony N. Brady to produce hydroelectric power and improve navigation on the Tennessee River.
Josephus Guild, a young engineer from Chattanooga, became interested in a plan drawn by Major Dan C. Kingman, the head of the local office of the Army Corps of Engineers. The plan was originally developed to control the turbulent waters below Chattanooga in the Tennessee River Gorge known as the Suck, the Pot and the Skillet. These river features, long feared by riverboat navigators, impeded trade along the waterway.
Rep. John A. Moon, a Democrat first elected in 1896, introduced a bill in 1904 that enabled the project. The bill said the construction cost would be borne by the recipient of the power franchise to be operated for 99 years and the government would hold title to the Dam.
After the city of Chattanooga failed to exercise its option on the project, Josephus Guild sought financial help from Charles James, a prominent Chattanooga businessman who was always eager to help promote the city's interests. James approached Anthony Brady, a New York financier with large interests in electrical utilities, who agreed to participate in the venture.
The Hales Bar Dam was built after Congressional action, on January 7, 1905, changed the site of the dam from Scott's Point.
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