election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1932. After his election, President-elect Roosevelt inspected the dam and threw his support behind Norris' public works plan, and in 1933, the Tennessee Valley Authority was created, with Wilson Dam as one of the cornerstones in the new agency's plans. TVA and Wilson Dam brought power to thousands in the Lauderdale and Colbert County areas as part of the TVA's overall plan of rural electrification and, in the words of one economist, gave residents "universally high standards of living, new jobs, leisure, freedom and an end to drudgery, congestion, noise, smoke and filth." Wilson Dam also served as TVA's first Headquarters, until it was gradually moved to Knoxville, TN, where it is still based. The nitrate plants that Wilson Dam was initially constructed to power were used for the production of fertilizer throughout the 1930s, and by the Second World War Wilson Dam Was finally used for its initial purpose, as the nitrate and phosphorus plants in the area were used to produce munitions for the war effort. These plants continued to serve throughout the Cold War, supplying a major portion of the phosphorus used in munitions by the United States Armed Forces. In 1959, a new lock was constructed for Wilson Dam, which was the largest single-chamber lock in the world at the time of construction. This lock remains today the largest single-chamber lock in the Continental United States east of the Rockies. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy visited the dam in 1963 with Alabama Governor George C. Wallace to make remarks on TVA and Wilson Dam's role in the agency's success and the role of the Federal Government in the Valley's history. In 1966, the Department of the Interior designated Wilson Dam a National Historic Landmark and added it to the National Register of Historic Places for its role as the first dam under TVA supervision. Wilson Dam is one of 29 conventional hydroelectric dams that provide flood control, navigation, electrical power, recreation, and water supply for the seven-state Tennessee Valley region and is the largest conventional facility in the TVA System. Over 3,600 vessels pass through the locks each year and the dam currently serves as the training facility for all of TVA's hydroelectric workers. Wilson Lake provides of shoreline and of water surface for recreational activities, and the adjoining reservation provides miles of hiking trails and campground. Gallery See also Ashwander