Norris, Tennessee
I live in Norris because I like being close to things-close to the vital, active people who work beside me; close to the beating heart of a project that is daring and unprecedented; close to the earth and the sky, and that great simplicity that does not change...I have found life here to be fresh and vigorous, and stimulating and good.
-Gwennie James, 1936
The town, dreamt up by US president Franklin D. Roosevelt and TVA president Arthur Morgan, became visionary throughout America as a town plan that responded to landscape while transforming a culture deeply embedded in poverty. A key feature of this New Deal development was the Norris House, an assembly of home designs built as models for modern and efficient living. These homes introduced electricity and heating systems into the home, elements not found in the Appalachian region at the time. The town was supported by a strong community center and was originally planned to operate econonmically around several small intergrated industries (dairy farm, ceramics production, and lumber products).
Almost seven decades later, we seek to revisit the vision of Norris with the construction of a New Norris House.
External Links: Norris Dam, Norris Town Plan
