Muscle Shoals

Muscle Shoals

The Muscle Shoals is a section of the Tennessee River in North Alabama. This is the shoals that gives the surrounding area its name. The section on the river totals 37 miles in length. This was once an impassable barrier along the river. It made navigation extremely difficult for people. The Shoals...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Carrie Keener, University of North Alabama
Format: Electronic
Published: Auburn University Libraries
Subjects:
Cultural resources
Online Access:https://omeka.lib.auburn.edu/items/show/1614
format Electronic
collection Alabama Cultural Resource Survey Collection
building Auburn University
publisher Auburn University Libraries
topic Cultural resources
spellingShingle Cultural resources
Muscle Shoals
Carrie Keener, University of North Alabama
fulltopic Cultural resources
Muscle Shoals, Alabama; Colbert County; Tennessee River
description The Muscle Shoals is a section of the Tennessee River in North Alabama. This is the shoals that gives the surrounding area its name. The section on the river totals 37 miles in length. This was once an impassable barrier along the river. It made navigation extremely difficult for people. The Shoals was named after either the mussels found along the banks or the muscles needed to canoe across the river there. Both are disputed explanations for the naming of the shoals. Along this stretch the river had shoals, reefs, gravel, sand bars, swift currents, and uncertain depths. Until the canal was built in the early 1800s the area could only be navigated by small man-propelled crafts, such as canoes and rafts. <br /><br />The increasing problem of navigation through the area eventually gained the notice of Congress and they provided land for sale to generate funds to build a canal. This original canal was little help and was never intended to be used as a high traffic waterway. Coal barges could barely, if at all, fit down the canal. It was also a very slow option to naviagte along the river, as it could take up to 11 hours to fully travel down the river.
spelling Muscle ShoalsCarrie Keener, University of North AlabamaMuscle Shoals, Alabama; Colbert County; Tennessee RiverThe Muscle Shoals is a section of the Tennessee River in North Alabama. This is the shoals that gives the surrounding area its name. The section on the river totals 37 miles in length. This was once an impassable barrier along the river. It made navigation extremely difficult for people. The Shoals was named after either the mussels found along the banks or the muscles needed to canoe across the river there. Both are disputed explanations for the naming of the shoals. Along this stretch the river had shoals, reefs, gravel, sand bars, swift currents, and uncertain depths. Until the canal was built in the early 1800s the area could only be navigated by small man-propelled crafts, such as canoes and rafts. <br /><br />The increasing problem of navigation through the area eventually gained the notice of Congress and they provided land for sale to generate funds to build a canal. This original canal was little help and was never intended to be used as a high traffic waterway. Coal barges could barely, if at all, fit down the canal. It was also a very slow option to naviagte along the river, as it could take up to 11 hours to fully travel down the river.Alabama Cultural Resource SurveyDecember 1, 2015imagehttps://omeka.lib.auburn.edu/items/show/1614Young, Ronald. 1976. 'History Of US Facilities At Muscle Shoals, Alabama, And Origins Of The TVA'. Paper. Florence. William Lindsey McDonald Collection. UNA Special Archives. Peyton, John Howe. 1916. 'America's Gibraltar Muscle Shoals'. Paper. Florence. William Lindsey McDonald Collection. UNA Special Archives. 'FDR, TVA, And CCC Federal Influence In The Shoals: The Journal Of Muscle Shoals History Volume XIX'. 2015. Florence. William Lindsey McDonald Collection. UNA Special Archives.
title Muscle Shoals
titleStr Muscle Shoals
author Carrie Keener, University of North Alabama
author_facet Carrie Keener, University of North Alabama
id AUcultural1614
url https://omeka.lib.auburn.edu/items/show/1614
_version_ 1788802435205038080

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