Pickwick Reservoir is located in southwest Tennessee. It extends 53 miles south from the dam along the Mississippi-Alabama state line and then east into Alabama. The construction of the dam was completed in 1938, and the first two of its six hydroelectric generating units began operating the same year.
Pickwick Landing Dam is a significant producer of hydroelectric power. It provides a flat pool of water that extends eastward to Wilson Dam in Alabama and covers a portion of the treacherous Muscle Shoals, which once hampered navigation on the Tennessee River. Pickwick Landing received its present name from the first local postmaster whose fondness for the works of Charles Dickens prompted him to name the post office "Pickwick" in honor of the Pickwick Paper. The park was a riverboat stop, dating from the 1840's.
Seven Mile Island is TVA’s only archaeological district on the National Register of Historic Places (1979) that has evidence of over 12,000 years of human occupation in the region. The area is protected under the Archaeological Resource Protection Act.
For more information about TVA dams visit https://www.tva.gov/Energy/Our-Power-System/Hydroelectric.
TVA is a corporate agency of the United States, it receives no taxpayer funding, deriving virtually all of its revenues from sales of electricity to business customers and local power distributors serving 9 million people in parts of seven southeastern states. But TVA is much more than a power company. Through its mission of service, the Tennessee Valley Authority improves the quality of life by providing safe, clean, reliable and affordable electricity; supporting communities through economic development; and carrying out environmental stewardship programs to ensure we all have a beautiful, unique place to live for generations.
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