Answer:  Employment verifications are now retrieved by the employee through My Biz.  If you go http://cpol.army.mil/library/benefits/2013-EV.html there are documents and information for Employment Verification as well as a link for My Biz.  Beginning Nov 1, 2010, the Department of Defense replaced 'The Work Number' for employment and salary verification and replaced it with a Self Service salary and employment tool. You can paste the following link in your browser: https://compo.dcpds.cpms.osd.mil/  and follow the instructions to access the Employment Verification Tool.

Answer: For questions or to order by phone, call (615) 736-7912.  Please note, charts can only be purchased with a check.

How to Purchase Navigation Charts

Tennessee River Navigation Charts

Cumberland River Navigation Charts

Additional Information

Individuals Buying One of Each Navigation Map

Note: If picking up orders in person there is no shipping cost. The maps and charts listed above are available for purchase at this location: The Estes Kefauver Federal Building located at the U.S. Courthouse, Room A640, 801 Broadway, in Nashville, Tenn. This is not a mailing address.

Send Check or Money Order to:

Make Checks Payable to: FAO: U.S. Army Engineer Division, Lakes-River

Cumberland River Navigation Charts (Downloadable)

Charts are in PDF format. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to view and print the charts. Click on the chart number you wish to view. 

• The topographical background images displayed throughout these navigation charts are the property and copyrighted data of Environmental Science Research Institute ® and its vendors.  The use of these images is in accordance with the Redistribution Rights as outlined at http://www.esri.com/legal.

Tabular Index: Click on the number of the Chart you wish to view.

Tennessee River Navigation Charts (Downloadable)

Charts are in PDF format. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to view and print the charts. Click on the chart number you wish to view. 

• The topographical background images displayed throughout these navigation charts are the property and copyrighted data of Environmental Science Research Institute ® and its vendors.  The use of these images is in accordance with the Redistribution Rights as outlined at http://www.esri.com/legal. 

Tabular Index: Click on the number of the chart you wish to view

Answer: The America the Beautiful – The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass Series includes different options of interagency passes that provide access to more than 2,000 federal recreation areas across the United States. Use the search list at https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/pickup-pass-locations.htm for options to purchase or pick up passes at participating agencies' sites across the country. Participating agencies include the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Most interagency passes are available through the USGS Online Store. 

If obtaining an America the Beautiful pass at a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers visitor's center, recommend calling ahead to ensure they have your preferred pass on hand, make sure you know the hours they are open, and to ask directions if needed. The contact a lake module includes this information on the Nashville District main web page at https://www.lrd.usace.army.mil/About/Districts/Nashville-District/. 

Answer: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District Drone Policy governs the operation and use of recreational unmanned aerial systems (UAS) at all Nashville District lakes within the Cumberland River Basin.

The guidance has designated approved locations to fly drones for hobbyists, while at the same time prohibiting drones where people are camping and recreating such as designated swim beaches. The policy also prohibits UAS flights near critical infrastructure such as locks, dams, power plants and switch yards.

Drones should be operated in accordance with applicable state laws and Federal Aviation Administration regulations including any UAS registration requirements. They may be flown only during daylight hours only and while maintaining a visual line of sight of the aircraft while it is in operation.

Operators will be held liable for damage to Corps of Engineers property resulting from piloting a drone or any other activity associated with operating a UAS.

The operation of unmanned aircraft that harasses or jeopardizes wildlife, including listed endangered and threatened species or critical habitat is prohibited. Critical habitat include areas that contain the physical and biological features that are essential to the conservation of a given species or group of species and that may require special management or protection.

Violations may result in removal from federal property and potential citations.

The authority to approve exceptions to the policy is delegated to the Operations Project Managers. Call the lake resource manager’s offices for more information or to request an exception to policy.

At Corps of Engineers operated and maintained locks at Tennessee Valley Authority projects in the Tennessee River Basin, the TVA Drone Policy applies.

Approved Locations:

Lake Barkley (270) 362-4236
Canal Overlook Recreation Area

Cheatham Lake (615) 792-5697
Brush Creek Recreation Area

J. Percy Priest Lake (615) 889-1975
Fall Creek Recreation Area
Vivrette Creek Recreation Area

Old Hickory Lake (615) 822-4846
Sanders Ferry Park
Nat Caldwell Park
Lock Four Recreation Area

Center Hill Lake (931) 858-3125
Johnsons Chapel Recreation Area

Cordell Hull Lake (615) 735-1034
Brimstone Recreation Area

Dale Hollow Lake (931) 243-3136
Keisling Bottom Recreation Area

Lake Cumberland (606) 679-6337
Pulaski County Park

The Cumberland River Basin Clean Marina Program is a voluntary program implemented by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District and its watershed partners to promote environmentally responsible marina and boating practices. This program, established in support of the National Clean Boating Campaign, helps marina operators protect the very resource that provides them with their livelihood: Clean Water. It is designed as an ongoing program to reduce water pollution and erosion in the Cumberland River watershed. The effort will encourage boater education, increased coordination among state agencies and better communication of existing laws, as well as offer incentives for creative and proactive marina operators.

The following marinas have completed requirements of the Cumberland River Basin Clean Marina Program and promote environmentally responsible marina and boating practices:

Cheatham Lake
Rock Harbor Marina

Cordell Hull Lake
Wildwood Resort & Marina

Dale Hollow Lake
Safe Harbor Eagle Cove
Dale Hollow State Park Marina
Sunset Marina & Resort
Willow Grove Resort & Marina

Lake Cumberland
Conley Bottom
Marina at Rowena

Old Hickory Lake
Cedar Creek Marina

Army Special Order 191 created the Nashville District Aug. 18, 1888, to develop the lower Cumberland River. This led to construction of the old locks above and below Nashville, and eventually today’s modern dams. Lt. Col. John W. Barlow became the first Nashville District Engineer.  His task was to oversee the construction of a series of locks and dams on the Cumberland River. 

The Trousdale building at 609 Broad Street in Nashville was the first district office in 1888. Engineers on the Cumberland eagerly seized upon the idea of locks and dams to facilitate year-round navigation on the river.  Over the next 40 years, 15 locks and dams were built on the Cumberland River and were kept in service until the modern, multi-purpose dams that are now in operation were constructed.

Today the Nashville District is responsible for navigable waterways in the Cumberland and Tennessee River Basins; flood risk reduction; hydropower and recreation at nine multipurpose projects in the Cumberland River Basin; and protection, preservation, restoration and improvement of natural resources. The Nashville District Headquarters is located in the Estes Kefauver Federal Building in Nashville, Tennessee.  The federal building has been the home of the district headquarters since 1974. 

Nashville District Facts

• The Nashville District geographic area touches seven states and covers 59,000 squares miles. 
• The Nashville District's geographic area is represented by 14 senators and 20 Congressmen.
• The Nashville District has the capacity to produce more than 914 megawatts of clean electricity from nine hydropower plants in the Cumberland River basin. 
• This Nashville District operates and maintains 1,175 commercially navigable river miles, almost 10 percent of the total within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  
• Nashville District team members operate and maintain 14 navigation lock projects: nine on the Tennessee River, four on the Cumberland River, and one on the Clinch River.
• Wilson Lock in Alabama has the highest single lift east of the Rocky Mountains, which is between 93 and 100 feet, depending on the current river water level.
• Nashville District operates 10 lakes, 273 recreation areas, 108 playgrounds, 72 swim areas, 104 hiking trails, 108 picnic sites, 25 campgrounds and 3,203 campsites in the Cumberland River Basin. 
• Park rangers manage 336,106 acres of public lands, 3,800 miles of shoreline and 201,385 water acres with 22 fishing docks and 281 boat ramps in the Cumberland River Basin.
• Lake Cumberland has the only operating gristmill in the Corps, a National Historic site, which has survived fire, rebuilding, and time. The mill has a 40-feet overshot waterwheel, the largest of its kind in the world.
• Two Nashville District lakes, Lake Cumberland and Dale Hollow, make it possible for National Fish Hatcheries to be co-located just downstream.  Water, which is withdrawn from deep in the pool, supplies the Hatcheries with the necessary water temperature that trout require to flourish.  And those same structures, along with Center Hill Dam, make it possible for those species to do well downstream of the dams because of their inherent mission of flood damage reduction that requires water storage over long periods of time. 
• The total capacity of water in Corps lakes is 4.07 million acre-feet.

Aug. 18, 1888 - Army Special Order 191 created the Nashville District
Nov. 10, 1890 - Muscle Shoals Canal opens to traffic.
Dec. 4, 1911 - Colbert Shoals Canal opens on the Tennessee River.
Nov. 1, 1913 - First vessel locks through Hales Bar project on the Tennessee River.
July 1916 - Up to 15 inches of rain fell in the French Broad River basin near Ashville, North Carolina, washing out numerous roads and bridges.  By year's end, Nashville District had repaired or rebuilt 90 miles of roadway and several bridges using hired labor.  Nearly $16,000.00 of the $30,000.00 allotted for the work was returned to the U.S. Treasury.
Dec. 21, 1916 - Lock D opens for navigation on the Cumberland River.
May 4, 1917 - a month after the nation enters World War I, an amateurish attempt is made to sabotage Lock & Dam 21 near Burnside, Ky. Armed guards patrol District projects until the end of the war.
April 1, 1918 - Satellite district established at Florence, Ala., to manage the construction of Wilson Dam.
Sept. 2, 1918 - Lock & Dam C on the Cumberland River goes into operation.
Sept. 8, 1924 - Widows Bar Dam on the Tennessee River completed.
Oct. 1, 1925 - Widows Bar Lock opens on the Tennessee River (submerged by Guntersville Project in 1939.)
December 1926 - Nashville's greatest flood begins.
Jan. 1, 1927 - Cumberland River reaches 56.2 feet at the Nashville gauge; highest recorded flood waters in the city.
June 1, 1927 - Wilson locks open for navigation.
January 1933 - The Nashville District begins construction of Wheeler Lock & Dam at Muscle Shoals, Ala., the last District construction project on the Tennessee River, until Kentucky Lock.
May 18, 1933 - Tennessee Valley Authority created. Supervision of Tennessee River development passes from Nashville District to the new agency.
August 1933 - Chattanooga District is abolished due to the establishment of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Nov. 28, 1933 - Nashville District transfers to the Ohio River Division.
April 1936 - The Nashville District steam towboat Warioto, transports the 317th Field Artillery and 310th Cavalry (U.S. Army Reserve units) to Lock A, Ashland City, Tenn., for tactical maneuvers and weapons testing.
January 1937 - District Engineer Maj. Bernard Smith dispatches entire fleet down the Cumberland River for rescue and relief work in response to severe flooding; with bridges too low to pass, vessels steam across farmland and bridge approaches, dodging telephone and power lines.
March 15, 1938 - During an inspection visit, District Engineer Lt. Col. Charles E. Perry drowned at Wheeler Lock and Dam after a fall from the spillway wall.  He is the only DE to die while in command at Nashville.
Dec. 1, 1941 - The Construction Division of the Army Quartermaster Corps is transferred to the Corps of Engineers, greatly increasing Nashville District's military construction mission.
September 1941 & 1951 - Wolf Creek Dam groundbreaking is followed exactly ten years later by its dedication.
March 1942 - Workers began construction of the Berry Hill Air Crew Classification Center.  The district was also pressing construction of a large prisoner of war compound at Crossville, Tenn., that eventually held large numbers of German and Italian POW's.
July 1, 1942 - Nashville District military construction projects at Berry Hills Air Crew Classification Center and Stewart Air Force Base open for business.
April 1943 - Work on Center Hill Dam is stopped by World War II.  Work never resumed until after the war was over.
June 30, 1943 - Dale Hollow Dam completed for purpose of flood control.
August 1943 - Ft. Loudoun Lock opens for the first time to navigation traffic.
Jan. 1, 1946 - Catastrophic flooding at Pineville, Kentucky, leads to the construction of a system of levees and floodwalls.
July 24, 1946 - Rivers & Harbors Act of 1946 authorizes construction of Old Hickory, Carthage (Cordell Hull) and Celina Dams.  Celina was later de-authorized.
Nov. 27, 1948 - Center Hill Dam construction completed; lake impoundment begins.

December 1950 – Wolf Creek Dam was completed for flood control operation and Lake Cumberland was filled. The project was authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1938 and the River and Harbor Act of 1946.  The Lake drains 5,789 square miles, has a shoreline of 1,255 miles, a pool length of 101 miles, and stores more water than any Corps project east of the Mississippi River.  
December  1952 - Cheatham Lake filled and Lock opens to the public.  The Lock and Dam were authorized by Congress in 1946 as a navigation project to enhance the development of the Cumberland River.
July 30, 1954 - 2,000 people watch in 100-degree heat as 10,000 pounds of explosives are used to demolish Lock A.  People in small boats gather 600 pounds of fish that float to the surface after the blast.  The lock was removed shortly before the dedication of the Cheatham project.
Sept. 18, 1954 - Cheatham Lock & Dam dedicated.
July 2, 1958 - Congress changes the name of Stewart's Ferry Reservoir project to J. Percy Priest.
May 1, 1961 - Nashville's military construction mission is transferred to Mobile District.
May 1963 - President John F. Kennedy speaks at Vanderbilt Stadium and presses a golden key detonating a charge that breaks ground for the Cordell Hull project.
July 6, 1964 - Nashville District Engineer Colonel James Newman and Congressman Joe Evins break ground for Cordell Hull Lock & Dam.
Aug. 20, 1966 - Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey dedicates the Barkley Lock and Dam project, which was completed for $20 million dollars less than the original estimate.  He symbolically mixed the waters from both river basins to commemorate the opening of the Barkley Canal.
December 1967 – J. Percy Priest Lake filled upon completion of the Dam.  The project was authorized by Congress in 1946, initially under the title “Stewarts Ferry Reservoir”.  Public Law 85-496, approved July 2, 1958, changed the name to honor the late Congressman from Tennessee.
July 30, 1972 - Laurel Dam Completed.
August 1973 - Congressman Joe L. Evins pulls a lever to power up the first generator at Cordell Hull Dam.
September 1973 - Cordell Hull Lake was first filled.
Oct. 17, 1973 - Cordell Hull project dedicated.
April 1974 - In the aftermath of 100+ tornadoes across the central U.S. (April 3rd) District survey teams prepare 575 damage reports covering 35 Tennessee counties.
September 1974 - Smithland Lock & Dam construction begins.
March 11-14, 1975 - The resulting floods from 10 inches of rain raised the level to 48 feet on the main stem of the Cumberland River.  Without District flood control reservoirs, a record flood would have resulted and with it an estimated $150 million dollars in damage.  Actual damage totaled 17.9 million.
January 1977 - District personnel proceed to northern Ohio to administer snow removal contracts for opening roads into small communities isolated by record snow falls and cold temperatures.
April 1977 - Record flooding inundates Upper Cumberland region.  Levee at Pineville, Ky., is overtopped as is the construction cofferdam at Martins Fork.  Valiant flood fighting effort by National Guard, townspeople and Corps employees saves Barbourville, Ky., from flooding.
June 1977 - Initial public meetings completed on Upper Cumberland local flood control projects.
November 1977 - Emergency personnel open four temporary area offices in western North Carolina to facilitate the replacement of over 500 bridges washed away in massive flooding.
May 1979 - Eight barges break loose from the Towboat Robert D. Herbert and lodge against Cheatham Dam. One sinks. The barges are a threat to get underneath the dams' tainter gates but are successfully removed.
May 1979 - Tenn-Tom Constructors, a joint venture between Morrison-Knudsen, Brown & Root and Martin K. Eby proceed on largest civil works contract in Corps history to excavate 11.3-mile section of Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Divide Cut section (271 million dollars.)
June 30, 1979 - Martins Fork Dam is dedicated.

January 1981 - The emergency Management Branch was brought up to full staff for the first time.  Organization established in all Districts and Divisions of the Corps of Engineers to ensure the proper emphasis in all phases of emergency management, but especially to increase preparedness for mobilization during wartime activities.
April 1981 - The Master Plan for recreational development in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, Nashville District's most challenging recreational project, is approved.
March 1982 - Howard Boatman, father of Todd Boatman, was named Federal Employee of the Year.
1983 - Beginning of Pineville, Kentucky., Section 202 flood protection project.
May 1984 - Flooding produces record pool levels at Martins Fork, Wolf Creek, Center Hill, Old Hickory, J. Percy Priest and Barkley. An estimated $200 million in damages is averted.
August 1984 - Groundbreaking held for Barbourville, Kentucky, Section-202 flood control project.
December 1985 - The first complete transit of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway occurs.                  
January 1986 - Construction of the new Wallsend Bridge began as part of the Pineville Flood Control Project.  The bridge connected the communities of Wallsend and Pineville, Kentucky.  The two-lane bridge replaced a lower one-lane bridge.
April 1986 - Bandy Creek Recreation Area completed at Big South Fork.  
Feb. 23, 1988 - Corps Ranger Keith Crowe and Division of Forestry's Ted Melton discovered a giant Swamp Chestnut Oak growing on Old Hickory Lake property.  The giant oak measured 20 feet around and was more than 100 feet tall.
July 24, 1988 - Phase One, the $795,000 contract for an access road and boat launching area at Piney Grove was finished.
March 31, 1989 - District Engineer Lt. Col. William Allen retires, receives the Legion of Merit.
Feb. 23, 1990 - A ceremony is held at District Headquarters on the seventh floor of the Federal Building in Nashville, Tenn., to add the names of Robert L. Thomas; Ronald G. Welbern; and Harold R. Stafford to the Distinguished Civilian Employee plaque.  The 79-year-old retiree Ed "Digger" Drake entertained the crowd with stories from his 1935 to 1975 career, including tales about Soils Lab employee Louis Campbell, and a "wet-behind-the-ears" engineer names Euclid Moore, later Chief of Engineering Division.
Jan. 10, 1991 - In Rhea County, Tenn., ravishing flood waters raced down normally quiet Piney Creek from Grandview Mountain's 20,000-acre watershed and into Spring City, located near Watts Bar Lake.  It was the worst flood in local history.  Some damage estimates in Spring City alone reached a million dollars.
March 15, 1991 - Old Hickory Resource Manager hosted 20 high school students from Japan.
March 18, 1991 - TWRA first signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Corps to manage more than 100,000 acres of forest resources at Cordell Hull, Dale Hollow, and Center Hill Lakes.
June 14, 1991 - The largest lift lock in the district undergoes dewatering, repair.  Wilson Lock was closed for maintenance and a scheduled dewatering. 
March 23, 1992 - Giant drills broke through the last of four tunnels for a ceremonial completion of the first phase of the Harlan Project.
June 3, 1993 - Peter W. Tunnicliffe, President of the Hazardous Waste Action Coalition (HWAC) and Lieutenant General Arthur E. Williams, Chief of Engineers, sign a Partnering Agreement aimed at guiding the cooperative efforts of the two organizations in the nation's environmental restoration program.
Jan. 13, 1994 - A ruptured pipe was discovered at Dale Hollow Lake.  Nashville District crews labored eight days in sub-zero weather to prevent a $1/2 million loss to the sport industry in middle Tennessee.  A ruptured water supply pipe running beneath a parking plaza near the base of snow-encrusted Dale Hollow Dam threatened to cut off a vital water source for 90,000 pounds of trout at the Dale Hollow Fish Hatchery.  A fish Hatchery contractor repaired the rupture.  On Jan. 21, the final connection was made, and fresh water flowed steadily at 9,000 gpm into the fish hatchery raceways.
April 1994 - The Harlan tunnels were tested for the first time as heavy rains deluged the area. They easily passed the test as floodwaters only half filled the four 32-foot-tall tunnels.
July 22, 1994 - Children learned about Old Hickory Project when WZTV, Channel 17, Fox Network, broadcasted its quarterly program, Kids Stuff.  Jim Martens, field producer; Jimmy Daye, cameraman; Tim Hall, technical support; and Colin Begley, co-host of Kids Stuff, videotaped "standups" with Colin and footage of the power plant, lock, and dam for the four-to-five-minute segment of the program.
June 13, 1995 - Electrician Steve Tinker closed Chickamauga Lock to navigation at 4:48 p.m.  What Tinker spotted was the failure of the gudgeon pin's hinge assembly on the lower miter gate's land leaf.  The closure was of great interest to local media since the annual River Bend Festival was about to start.  Traditionally, the River Bend Festival is a time when many pleasure craft use the lock to travel to the Ross Landing Dock area in Chattanooga.  The lock was reopened to barge and pleasure craft on June 17 before the festivities began.
July 26, 1996 - For the first time in the history of the Corps of Engineers, Wilson Lock uses a Caisson type Barge as its Upper Gate to allow use of the lock during repairs.
Oct. 25, 1999 - Dignitaries led by Congressman Hal Rogers, Kentucky 5th District, Joseph W. Westphal, assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, Brig. Gen. Robert Griffin, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Great Lakes and Ohio River Division commander, local dignitaries, and Nashville District staff dedicated the Harlan Flood Control Project as part of Eastern Kentucky PRIDE Week. It culminated a decade undertaking to provide the maximum level of flood protection in Harlan County, Kentucky.

April 19, 2013 - Congressman Hal Rogers gives keynote address at the Wolf Creek Dam Barrier Wall Completion Ceremony at Russell Springs Auditorium. It took more than five years of continuous construction work to complete the $594 million dam safety major rehabilitation. The barrier wall was designed to effectively cut off all seepage paths from Lake Cumberland.
Aug. 18, 2013 - Nashville District's personnel celebrate the district's 125th Anniversary, which occurred Sunday, Aug. 18, 2013, on Friday, Aug. 16, 2013, with food and festivities at the headquarters. Michael Zoccola threw out the first pitch Aug. 18, 2013 at the Nashville Sounds baseball game.
Sept. 17, 2013 - Local, state and federal partners kicked off Silver Jackets at the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency Headquarters in Nashville, Tenn. Tennessee officially becomes the 40th state to join the program that provides a formal, consistent and unified approach to planning and implementing measures to reduce the risks associated with flooding and other natural hazards. Photo: James Bassham, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency director, welcomes state and federal participants.
June 16, 2014 - The History Channel show "10 Things You Didn't Know About" films at Center Hill Dam where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District is working to remediate the foundation of the dam. The show's host Henry Rollins featured Resident Engineer Bill DeBruyn on the episode.
July 22, 2014 - Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers commander and 53rd chief of engineers, visits the Center Hill Dam Foundation Remediation Project where the Nashville District is installing a subsurface concrete barrier wall through the earthen embankment to stop seepage through the karst geology. The Corps constructed Center Hill Dam in the 1940s. The project is located in Lancaster, Tennessee, on the Caney Fork River, a tributary of the Cumberland River.
Aug. 27, 2014 - The Oak Ridge Boys want their fans to know that life jackets are life savers. The group harmonized this very important water safety message Aug. 27, 2014 for visitors of Corps of Engineers lakes during an engagement at the Nashville Sounds' last game ever at Greer Stadium.
Aug. 28, 2014 - Crystal Gayle wants her fans to play it safe when it comes to water safety. She visited the Country Music Hall of Fame Aug. 28, 2014 where she encouraged everyone to be safe swimming and boating, and to wear a life jacket when recreating on Corps of Engineers lakes. 
Sept. 5, 2014 - Actors Connie Britton, who plays Rayna James, and Will Chase, who plays Luke Wheeler, shoot a segment for a future episode of the ABC hit show "Nashville" at Old Hickory Lake, which is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District.
Sept. 23, 2014 - Federal, state and local agencies formalized an official partnership to promote flood risk reduction by signing the Tennessee Silver Jackets Charter during a ceremony at Metro Nashville’s Development Services Center. Tennessee is the 40th state to form a Silver Jackets Program, which is an innovative partnership where its members collaborate on the state's flood risk management priorities.
Sept. 29, 2014 - Tainter gates bound for the Olmstead Dam Project on the Ohio River pass through Kentucky Lock at Tennessee River mile 22.4 in Grand Rivers, Ky. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District operates and maintains the lock at the Tennessee Valley Authority project.
Jan. 28, 2015 - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District placed concrete to top-out the first massive concrete monolith for the Kentucky Lock Addition project this past week, and held a ceremony to mark the occasion Jan. 28, 2015. The Corps is constructing a new 1,200-foot-long navigation lock at Kentucky Dam on the Tennessee River to reduce the significant bottleneck that the 600-foot-long current lock causes on this important waterway.
Feb. 6, 2015 - Thirty years after the dedication of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, officials cut another ribbon dedicating a museum that provides education outreach and features the value of transportation within the historical inland passageway built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1972 to 1984. The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway is the largest civil works project ever constructed in the United States. The Mobile and Nashville Districts built the 234-mile waterway.
April 17, 2015 - Country Music Legend Tanya Tucker shoots a water safety public service announcement in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District. She encouraged fans to be safe and to wear a life jacket. Tucker is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. She was the Top New Female Vocalist as a teenager in 1972 and first female country artist to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine in 1974.
March 18, 2015 - Officials celebrated the completion of a barrier wall in the main dam embankment of Center Hill Dam during a ceremony at the work platform on top of the dam. The $115 million foundation barrier wall is a key component of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District’s Center Hill Dam Safety Remediation Project. Work to install the barrier wall began in 2012. It is 2.5-feet thick and as deep as 308 feet from the top of the dam and deep into the solid-rock foundation.
Aug. 9, 2015 - Motor Vessel Mississippi exits Guntersville Lock on the Tennessee River with the Mississippi River Commission. They also navigated the Cumberland River to visit U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District and Tennessee Valley Authority projects, inspect the waterways, and use the experience to improve the condition of the Mississippi River Basin, foster navigation, promote commerce, and reduce flood risk.
Oct. 7, 2015 - Work crews lifted a turbine out of hydropower unit two at Center Hill Dam, one of the final pieces of the disassembly process. It is the first time the 82-ton steel wheel has seen the light of day since its installation in 1950, a rare sight that makes it possible to inspect, rebuild embedded parts, and then reassemble the unit with new components. The hydropower unit is the first of 28 units at nine Nashville District projects that will be rehabilitated over the next 20 years.
Oct. 19, 2015 - Country Music Recording Group “LoCash” shoots a water safety public service announcement urging fans to be safe when recreating on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers waterways with the “I Love This Life Jacket” message, a spinoff from the title of their smash hit “I Love This Life.” Chris Lucas and Preston Brust of LoCash said they are very appreciative of their fans and feel blessed by the group’s recent success with “I Love This Life.”
June 7, 2016 - The nation’s chief of engineers visits three high visibility construction projects to meet employees and garner the very latest updates from project managers and team members. Lt. Gen. Todd T. Semonite, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers commander, hopped on a Tennessee National Guard Blackhawk to travel between the Chickamauga Lock Replacement Project and Kentucky Lock Addition Project in the Nashville District, and the Olmsted Locks and Dam Project in the Louisville District.
Aug. 3, 2016 - The congressman serving Tennessee District 3, who serves on the House Committee on Appropriations and the Energy and Water Subcommittee, dons a pair of rubber boots to get a close look at the dewatered Chickamauga Lock on the Tennessee River in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann trekked through the grit, grime and shallow pools of water in the 60-foot by 360-foot lock to interact with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District team that has been inspecting and making repairs.
Feb. 28, 2017 - Douglas W. Lamont, senior official performing duties of secretary of the Army for Civil Works toured Chickamauga Lock in Chattanooga, Tenn., to realize the challenges of keeping a deteriorated lock open while racing against time to construct a replacement lock.
Aug. 21, 2017 - The public flocked to see the Total Eclipse at designated viewing areas at dams and recreation areas at Lake Barkley in Kentucky, and Cheatham Lake, Old Hickory Lake, J. Percy Priest Lake, Cordell Hull Lake, Dale Hollow Lake, and Center Hill Lake in Tennessee.
Sept. 11, 2017 - Nashville District personnel who responded to the 2016 Federal Employee Survey found out today that their high marks for job and organizational satisfaction resulted in a “Best Place to Work in USACE Award” from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters. Maj. Christopher Burkhart, Nashville District deputy commander, showed off the award certificate during staff meeting and lauded everyone for participating in the survey that enhances a culture of engagement and two-way feedback.
June 29, 2018 - Community leaders celebrated the 50th Anniversary of J. Percy Priest Dam and Reservoir, acknowledging the project’s positive impact since President Lyndon B. Johnson dedicated it. Mayor David Briley said that two million citizens continue to enjoy the benefits the lake provides, which his grandfather Beverly Briley championed as first mayor of Metro Nashville when the Corps constructed the dam in the 1960s. The project honors Congressman James Percy Priest.
Aug. 6, 2018 - Nashville District successfully placed the first of 10 concrete shells on the riverbed that will be part of the downstream cofferdam and the permanent downstream lock wall for the Kentucky Lock Addition Project. This 46-foot wide by 51-foot long by 33-foot high shell weighed 1.3 million pounds. A tow boat moved the barge with the concrete shell into position underneath the gantry crane.
Oct. 19, 2018 - Officials unveil a state of Tennessee Historical Marker recognizing the significance of Dale Hollow Dam and Powerhouse, and Reservoir during the 75th Anniversary Commemoration of Dale Hollow Dam and Reservoir. (Left to Right) Eddie Clark, regional field services director for Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation; his mother Katherine Terry Clark, 92; Lt. Cullen Jones, commander; and Stanley Carter, Dale Hollow Dam Power Plant superintendent unveil the marker.
Nov. 14, 2019 - Honorable R.D. James, assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, visited the Chickamauga Lock Replacement Project for an opportunity to gauge the progress of the project and meet Nashville District leadership, project personnel, Tennessee Valley Authority partners, and stakeholders. James establishes policy and direction and provides supervision of all aspects of the Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works Program.
July 1, 2020 - Officials celebrated completion of the last phase of repairs for the $353 million Center Hill Dam Safety Rehabilitation Project where the Corps of Engineers finished constructing a roller compacted concrete berm to reinforce the auxiliary dam at Center Hill Lake, a secondary earthen embankment that fills a low area in the landscape just east of the main dam.
Feb. 3, 2021 - Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon, 55th chief of engineers and commanding general of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, visited Chickamauga Lock and the Chickamauga Lock Replacement Project where the Nashville District is constructing the new 110-by-600-foot navigation lock at the Tennessee Valley Authority project at Tennessee River mile 471 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 
May 18, 2021 - The Motor Vessel John Wepfer delivers two 90-ton transformers May 18, 2021 to the Barkley Dam Powerplant on the Cumberland River in Kuttawa, Kentucky. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District is replacing the transformers in the switchyard that have been in service since 1971.
May 21, 2021 - Motor Vessel Tampa out of Ashland, Kentucky, moves Marathon Petroleum Company fuel barges May 21, 2021, through Cheatham Lock in Ashland City, Tennessee, headed to terminals in Nashville. With the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District opened up Cheatham Lock during scheduled maintenance so barges destined to fuel Middle Tennessee could navigate up the Cumberland River. Each barge carries around 28,000 barrels of fuel.
May 22, 2023 - Shimmick Crane Operator Patrick Harrison lifted the last concrete form from monolith L13 to mark the official completion of the first of 36 monoliths. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District and its contractor, Shimmick, held a topping-off ceremony May 22, 2023, at the Chickamauga Lock Replacement Project on the Tennessee River in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
July 19, 2023 - The Inland Waterways Users Board checks on the progress of the Kentucky Lock Addition Project July 19, 2023, on the Tennessee River in Grand Rivers, Kentucky. The ongoing construction can be seen on the left while the active navigation lock miter gates are visible on the right. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District is constructing a larger lock at the Tennessee Valley Authority dam.
Oct. 7, 2023 - Congressman. John Rose, Tennessee 6th District, gives the keynote address while addressing guests during the dam’s 50th Anniversary celebration Oct. 7, 2023, on the shoreline below the dam in Elmwood, Tennessee. He noted that celebrating the achievements of the engineers and the contractors, and public policy makers of the time, made this project possible.
Oct. 12, 2023 - Michael L. Connors, assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, visited the Chickamauga Lock Replacement Project Oct. 12, 2023, on the Tennessee River in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Oct. 12, 2023 - Michael L. Connors, assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, visited the Kentucky Lock Addition Project Oct. 12, 2023, on the Tennessee River in Grand Rivers, Kentucky.
Oct. 12, 2023 - Michael L. Connors, assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, visited the Barkley Dam Powerhouse Oct. 13, 2023, on the Tennessee River in Kuttawa, Kentucky.

Lt. Col. John W. Barlow served as district engineer from Aug. 18, 1888 to Oct. 23, 1891. Barlow was the first Nashville District Engineer.  His task was to oversee the construction of a series of locks and dams on the Cumberland River. He later served as USACE chief of engineers.

Lt. Col. Henry M. Robert served as district engineer from Oct. 23, 1891 to June 9, 1893. He is famously known as the author of Robert's Rules of Order. He published it 20 years before taking command, but did revise it while in Nashville.

Maj. William W. Harts served as district engineer from Jun 18, 1907 to July 18, 1910 and again from Dec. 8, 1910 to July 24, 1911. He served as the chief engineer on the Lincoln Memorial and director of debris mission following 1906 California earthquake.

Maj. J.L. Schley served as district engineer Oct. 31, 1920 to Aug. 13, 1921. He commanded the 307th Engineering Battalion during World War I and later served as USACE chief of engineers.

Maj. Robert R. Neyland served as district engineer July 25, 1933 to March 5, 1934. He was also the head football coach of the Tennessee Volunteers from 1926-1934, 1936-1940, and 1946-1952, and holds the record for most wins in history. He amassed 173 wins in 216 games, which included six undefeated seasons, nine undefeated regular seasons, seven conference championships, and four national championships. His 1939 squad is the last NCAA team in history to hold every regular season opponent scoreless. Neyland Stadium is named in his honor. He achieved the rank of brigadier general while serving with distinction in the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II.

Col. Henry J. Hatch served as district engineer Aug. 28, 1974 to July 17, 1977. He later commanded the 326th Engineering Battalion and served as USACE chief of engineers.

MONTICELLO, Ky. -- Walking the grounds of Mill Springs Mill on the shore of Lake Cumberland will take your mind and soul to another time - the past. Old battlefields, new innovations and extensive restorations, make up much of Mill Springs Mill's history. By taking a stroll through Mill Spring's Park, one is instantly immersed in the culture and history of another time.

It all began in 1700 when hunters and explorers, called "Long Hunters", found a place "with excellent springs near a waterfall." The settlers were no doubt amazed at the sight of 13 springs flowing from the hillside! Here, Price's Station, one of the first settlements in Kentucky was established and eventually became a fur trading center. In 1774 Daniel Boone and Michael Stoner passed through this area.

The story of Mill Springs Mill began around 1817 when Charles, John and Dr. James Metcalf settled in the area and erected a cereal grinding mill, or a grist mill as they were usually called, for the milling of corn and wheat. The mill was equipped with 48 inch French burrs, millstones for grinding wheat and corn. Flour and cornmeal were custom ground for families who brought their grain by wagon or horseback on milling day.

The year 1824 brought the destruction of the Metcalfe Mill and factories due to fire. John Metcalfe took on the task of rebuilding and reconstruction was completed in 1839.

In 1825, a post office was established near the mill and was called Mill Springs, Kentucky. John Metcalfe, Jr. was designated the first post-master.

On Jan. 19, 1862, blood was shed on the grounds of Mill Springs as the North fought the South. Coveted because of it's easy defense capabilities, ferry landings, commandment of the river and easy approaches to Cumberland Gap and the mountain pass at Jacksboro, Tennessee, The Battle of Mill Springs, as it came to be called, was one of the first great battles of the Civil War. It proved to be one of the most significant for federal troops as well by marking the very first major defeat of Confederate forces. The first break in the Confederate defense line in Kentucky occurred and marked the beginning of Union operations leading across Tennessee and Mississippi.

In 1877, mill owner Lloyd Lanier and Arthur Rankin, skilled millwright, purchased the mill and all other included properties, then promptly erected the present 34 x 40 foot, three story mill which remains a magnificent sight to see. From 1879 through 1907 mill owners and operators included Ike Lanier, J.M. Sallee, Robert Lanier, Dr. J.S. Jones, and I. D. Ruffner. In 1885 the new firm J.S. Jones and Company modernized the mill by installing new machines and steel roller mills for milling flour.

Bolan E. Roberts bought the mill in 1907 and operated it as "Diamond Roller Mills." In 1908, the 28-foot cedar wheel was replaced by a steel water wheel. Still in use the wheel is one of the largest overshot water wheels in the world. The wheel has a diameter of 40 feet, 10 inches, and a breast of three feet. Powered by 13 natural springs located beside the mill, it is thought to be one of the largest of it's kind in the world.

A 15 horsepower auxiliary crude oil engine was added in the 1920's to supplement power to the Mill Springs Mill during low flow.

Thomas Roberts operated the mill under the name of the "Diamond Roller Mill" until 1949 when the federal government acquired the mill and lands as part of the Lake Cumberland project.

In 1963 the Monticello Woman's Club and other civic organizations, with aid from the Kentucky Department of Highways, reactivated the mill. In 1973 the mill was designated as a National Historic Site. In 1976, a major restoration to the structure and grounds was completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Traditional tools and skills were used to render the Mill as close to the original work as possible. The use of mortar was forgone to make the restorations as close to the original millwrights, Andrew Denney, as possible. Old fashioned cut nails and even the paint colors were carefully duplicated. Mill Springs is now on the National Register of Battlefields and is one of 25 Civil War battlefields that is included on a special Endangered Battlefield list.

Towering in size, incomparable in scale and ambitious in design, the Wilson Dam project, constructed from 1918-1927, established a standard for the nation for future waterways improvement.  The largest mass concrete United States lock & dam yet built, it was the first federal hydroelectric project as well as the first Corps of Engineers multipurpose effort.  Congress, noting the combined benefits of flood control, aid to commercial navigation and the production of hydroelectric power in a single project, soon mandated these elements be evaluated in all new investigations.   In 1933, the completed project amazed and inspired newly elected President Franklin Roosevelt to create the Tennessee Valley Authority.   This act revitalized a region and provided a blueprint for development of water resources nationwide. 

Wilson Dam marked the first successful attempt to tap the potential of the Tennessee River.  Efforts to develop the river for economic purposes dated back to the 1830's.  Inadequate, they failed to achieve significant results.  The barrier of the Muscle Shoals continued to divide the residents of the Tennessee Valley geographically and socially.  Poverty stricken, the region led the nation in grim categories like illiteracy, lowest per capita income, infant mortality and the availability of electricity and running water.  Initially authorized for national defense, the completion of Wilson Dam paved the way for a period of development that harnessed the river.   Rapid industrialization and economic diversification swept the valley.

Based on a survey report submitted by Nashville District Engineer, Major Harry Burgess, the Wilson Dam was the most ambitious American public works project of the period.  The massive structure, 137 feet in height and more than 4,500 feet long [world record] required the excavation of nearly 1.5 million cubic yards of earth and rock and consumed 1.3 million cubic yards of concrete.  At 94 feet, its lock lift established another world record and remains the highest on the system.  At peak construction, more than 4,000 men labored at the site, requiring the construction of a small town to house them and their dependents.    After 75 years Wilson, at 630,000 KW is still among the highest capacity hydroelectric plants in the nation.   At a total cost of nearly $47 million, it truly was an extraordinary project for its time.

Simultaneous with Wilson's construction, Nashville District conducted a comprehensive survey of the economic potential and future improvement of the Tennessee River.  The final report, advocating power-navigation dams on the main stem and power storage dams on the tributaries, became the foundation of multipurpose development in the valley.  When created in 1933, the Tennessee Valley Authority, using Wilson as a model, implemented these advance plans.

The construction of six multipurpose dams and the pressing of other initiatives gradually awakened the region from its torpor.   Flood damages fell, barge traffic, barely a million tons a year in 1930, surged and the availability of affordable electric power transformed everyday life in the valley.  In 1933, Muscle Shoals became the first community to receive electric power via the facilities at Wilson Dam; within a few years, more than one hundred other municipalities would join it.  This new development, as one economist noted, gave the residents "universally high standards of living, new jobs, leisure, freedom and an end to drudgery, congestion, noise, smoke and filth."  Much of this remarkable transformation has its roots in the Wilson Dam, the pathfinder federal multipurpose project that unlocked the potential of a dynamic, but isolated region.