Harrison Island ruins that you will see during the paddle 

Harrison Island Ruins Flatwater Paddle

• When:  Sat, March 31, 2018 at 10:00 AM
• Location:  Harrison, TN.

    We’ll meet at 10 am at the Tyner ramp and paddle over to the islands where Harrison town used to be before it had to be removed when they built the Chickamauga Dam and flooded the area.
    We’ll do a walk on the island where there are still artifacts to be found, before TVA raises the water level to summer levels.
    Two hours Flatwater paddling and one hour walking.
    If interested email me by 4 pm Thursday (29th) and check your email that night for directions etc.
    Eric Fleming.   598eric@gmail.com.

The original town of Harrison developed southeast of Vann’s Ferry (Vann Town), a ferry crossing established by James Vann, a prominent Cherokee trader and planter. It was named Harrison after President William Henry Harrison and became the seat of Hamilton County in 1840. The county seat was later moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, after the Civil War.  The first post office was opened on June 16, 1841. In 1870 the Hamilton County Courthouse was moved from Harrison to Chattanooga.

Harrison’s borders were once larger than today. When the Chickamauga Dam was completed on the Tennessee River by the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1940, much of the city was flooded, as portrayed in the 1960 movie Wild River. Some parts of the old city, such as old building foundations, roads, and guard rails, can still be seen, especially in and around Harrison Bay, named for the submerged town. Harrison Bay State Park is a TVA-built park in the area now.