In 1915, trees and buildings were removed from the area to be covered by the lake.

On April 1916 work began on the dam.

Stone was quarried about a hundred and fifty feet below the dam itself.

The remains of this quarry has been partially covered by the present park access road.

The stone was hauled to the dam site by teams of mules.

A crane at the spillway, powered by a mule, was used to hoist the stones up on the dam.

When the dam was completed, all the property owners were moved out except one woman, who for several years continued to cultivate a field near the lake. This field is kept cleared to this day and is used as a wildlife feeding area. Water began flowing to Kingsport in November of 1916, three months before the city was incorporated.

During the early years of the now Eastman Chemical Company, logging took place on and around Bays Mountain for the purpose of producing wood alcohol.

A train was put into service to haul the logs from the base of the mountain to the plant itself. The path of the tracks roughly follows the present Reservoir Road.

Return to the History of Bays Mountain

As the city grew the reservoir failed to meet the needs of the expanding population.

The Holston River became Kingsport's main source of water, and the use of Bays Mountain Lake for water supply was discontinued in 1944.

Return to the History of Bays Mountain