Travel Western North Carolina
Motoring through the Mountains - 1930s: Bushnell
Swain County
Altitude: 1,495 feet
As seen in this August 13, 1929, issue of The Ruralite (Sylva, N.C.), the possibility of new hydroelectric projects meant decisions had to be made on the potential of electrical production as weighed against the prospects of existing communities. The headlines of the article summarized the enterprise and the fate of the communities by noting that five hydroelectric projects were under consideration and that the “Villages of Bushnell, Wesser, Judson, Nantahala, Epp’s Springs and Others Will Be Covered by Chain of Lakes.” While plans were later changed in the 1930s that permitted the construction of a single, larger structure at Fontana, this article reported on initial plans for several dams that included two at Bushnell. The article also noted that the Southern Railway line would need to be relocated and that there would be an “elimination of the 15-mile branch line of the Southern Railway from Bushnell to Fontana.”
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Return to the Map for the 1930s
Sources & Readings
- “5 New Hydro-Electric Projects Are Planned for Nantahala Section -- Villages of Bushnell, Wesser, Judson, Nantahala, Epp’s Springs and Others Will Be Covered by Chain of Lakes.” The Ruralite (Sylva, N.C.), August 13, 1929.
- Oliver, Duane. Along the River: People and Places. [S.l.]: Duane Oliver, 1998.
- Oliver, Duane. Hazel Creek from Then til Now. [Maryville, Tenn.]: Duane Oliver, 1989.
- Poole, Cary Franklin. A History of Railroading in Western North Carolina. Johnson City, Tennessee: Overmountain Press, 1995.
- Swain County Genealogical and Historical Society. The Heritage of Swain County, North Carolina, 1988. Bryson City, N.C.: Swain County Historical and Genealogical Society, 1988.