1939 Map of Soddy Island

About this map

The rising waters of the ChickAMAUGA Reservoir dominate this Hamilton County landscape, following the Tennessee Valley Authority’s mid-century transformations. The 1939 survey captures the inundation of the Tennessee River valley, where newly formed inlets reach deep into the countryside along Soddy Creek and Possum Creek. Amidst this changing geography, established community life remains visible through a dense network of country institutions, including Bakewell Sch, Salem Sch, and numerous family-named burial grounds like Thatcher Cem and Patterson Cem. These sites, along with Mt Tabor Community Ch and Friendship Ch, highlight the rural social fabric that persisted as the hydroelectric projects of the era reshaped the terrain. The presence of the Southern Ry and the Hodgetown Highway on the western shore suggests the enduring transport corridors that connected these riverine settlements to the wider region.