Traveling down US 68/KY 80 from Bowling Green to Hopkinsville, first-timers may rub their eyes a bit when a giant obelisk that looks like the Washington Monument peaks over the trees in the horizon. Double-takes are certain for those who have never been through this part of southern Kentucky and have not seen the Jefferson Davis Monument.
It’s not every day one gets to see the inner-workings of a large hydroelectric plant inside a huge dam. The opportunity presented itself to us not too long ago – we got to partake in a private tour of the powerhouse at Kentucky Dam.
Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area was once home to over 2,000 families and several small tight-knit communities. The Tennessee Valley Authority took over the vast 170,000-acre peninsula between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley in the 1960s. TVA purchased the land from the families and many of them found new homes in nearby communities.
One resident, however, refused to move.
A special thanks to the Lloyd family of Asheville, North Carolina for donating some potentially never-before-seen historical photos of the old L&N Railroad Bridge at Danville, Tennessee. The photos were from a family member who was the engineer for the L&N Railroad bridge during the construction in 1931-1932.
