Rhea Springs was a community once located along the
Piney River in
Rhea County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. Originally established in the 19th century as a health resort, the community was inundated when the completion of
Watts Bar Dam by the
Tennessee Valley Authority flooded the lower Piney Valley in 1942.
[Bettye Broyles]
Rhea County
''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2002. Retrieved: 13 January 2009.
Rhea Springs, known as "Sulphur Springs" before 1878, developed around a
spring rumored to have "healing" qualities.
The spring flowed into the banks of the Piney approximately upstream from the river's mouth along the
Tennessee River. When the Tennessee Valley Authority began surveying the area for the construction of Watts Bar Dam and reservoir in the late 1930s, they reported a large hotel and seventeen small houses at Rhea Springs. After TVA acquired the community, most of its residents relocated elsewhere in the county or to
Chattanooga
Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...
.
Rhea Springs was the home of Congressman
John R. Neal
John Randolph Neal (November 26, 1836 – March 26, 1889) was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for Tennessee's 3rd congressional district.
Biography
Neal was born near Clinton, Tennessee in ...
(1836–1889) and the birthplace of his son, Scopes Trial attorney
John Randolph Neal, Jr.
John Randolph Neal Jr. (September 17, 1876 – November 23, 1959) was an American attorney, law professor, politician, and activist, best known for his role as chief counsel during the 1925 Scopes Trial, and as an advocate for the establishm ...
(1876–1959).
[Alice Howell, Lucile Deaderick (ed.), ''Heart of the Valley: A History of Knoxville, Tennessee'' (East Tennessee Historical Society, 1976), p. 582.]
See also
*
Austins Mill, Tennessee Austins Mill is an unincorporated community in Hawkins County, Tennessee, in the United States. It is located south of Rogersville along the Holston River (Cherokee Lake).
History
A post office called Austin's Mills was established in 1866, and r ...
*
Loyston, Tennessee
References
Geography of Rhea County, Tennessee
Former populated places in Tennessee
Tennessee Valley Authority
Submerged settlements in the United States
Populated places inundated by the Tennessee Valley Authority
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