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100 Year Anniversary of Georgia Hydroelectric ProjectNow Streaming on GPB Originals Follow this link to view the trailer: Follow this link to view the full documentary: In the latter part of the twentieth century’s second decade, an emerging Georgia Railway and Power Company was working around the clock to create what at the time would become America’s third largest hydropower project. The events that followed the completion of the Tugaloo Power Plant in 1914 in Tallulah Gorge and the subsequent closing of the Burton Dam in 1919 would flood the pioneer town of Burton and help create, at the time, the nation’s third largest hydroelectric project and Lake Burton in 1920. Those events are celebrated in "Power Play", a television special that originally aired on September 24, 2019 on Georgia Public Broadcasting (channel 8 in Atlanta). Power Play may now be viewed on the GPB Originals website. Spanning over 160 years, “Power Play 100 Years: Lake Burton and Georgia’s Hydroelectric Revolution” gives viewing audiences an opportunity to learn about Atlanta and Georgia history pre and post civil war era through Atlanta’s successful 1996 Olympic bid and the role electric power played as the state developed and expanded over the decades.
Also commemorating the 100-year anniversary of the creation of Lake Burton is a book, expected out in the spring of 2020, by Lake Burton resident Mike Maffett, M.D., supported by the Lake Burton Civic Association, entitled, “Our Eden: A Centennial History of Lake Burton and the Tallulah Basin”. The book chronicles the history of the Rabun County area and the life, traditions and stories of the century old lake that is the largest reservoir on the Tallulah watershed. We look forward to sharing additional information, including purchasing details, about the book in the near future. |