The Tennessee Valley Authority to Celebrate Its 75th Anniversary During 2008

During 2008, the Tennessee Valley Authority will be celebrating its 75th Anniversary. Created by an act of Congress and signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on May 18, 1933 as part of The New Deal program, the TVA Act and the program it created brought electricity to much of the rural hill country of northeast Mississippi, including Itawamba County.

The massive project began during the Great Depression, and created much needed jobs to many area citizens. Many Itawamba County residents obtained work at the Pickwick Dam on the nearby Tennessee River and many area farms obtained electricity for the first time.

The TVA was envisioned not only as an electrical energy provider, but also as a regional economic development agency that would use federal experts and electricity to rapidly modernize the area's economy and society.

As part of TVA’s 75th Anniversary, a major documentary film is being produced and the film’s producers are looking for locals with stories to tell. For further information about this film, read the newspaper article, at the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.

Photographs courtesy of The Library of Congress and the Tennessee Valley Authority.