The construction of the Mitchell Lake Dam began in June, 1921. Construction lasted two years. The project was designated "Mitchell Dam" in honor of James Mitchell, a pioneer in the building of hydroelectric power systems and President of Alabama Power Company from 1912-1920.
Mitchell Dam contained three turbine units when completed, stood 100 feet high and four football fields (1200 feet) in length. A unit was added in 1949 and two more in 1985. There are 14 river miles from Mitchell Dam to Lay Dam upstream. The Mitchell Lake reservoir includes almost 150 miles of shoreline and abundant natural scenery. Located in the central Alabama counties of Chilton and Coosa, midway between Birmingham and Montgomery, Lake Mitchell is the 5th reservoir in a chain of 6 on the Coosa River starting with Weiss Reservoir, near Rome, Ga. and ending with Lake Jordan near Wetumpka. Recreational opportunities include fishing, boating, skiing, swimming and camping. There is no single "owner or guardian" of our lake, legally or in fact. We, the citizens have the guardian obligation for our waterways. We must preserve, protect and improve our lake.
Popeye Has a Coosa River History.
The Coosa River can claim the world's most famous sailor as one of her own.
The story goes back to 1913. The lock and dam at Mayo's Bar had been completed by the Corp of Engineers and the level of the Coosa River had been raised to make navigation over the treacherous Horseleg Shoals much easier. The dam successfully raised the water level about 10 feet.
Now the day to day task of keeping the channel clear fell to the Corps. They purchased the "Annie M" and renamed her "Leota". Her captain was an Ohatchee, Alabama resident by the name of Sims. His son, Tom Sims, began drawing the comic strip "Thimble Theater" when it's creator, Elzie Segar, died in 1938.
The strip's story line dealt with the Oyl family that owned a shipping business. Commodore Oyl had a son, Castor, and a daughter, Olive. One of the sailors that worked for the commodore was a "wise- cracking, spinach eating chap" named Popeye. Tom Sims took that character, spun him off and gave him his own strip, thus creating "Popeye the Sailorman".
Tom Sims is quoted saying "Fantastic as Popeye is, the whole story is based on facts. As a boy I was raised on the Coosa River. When I began writing the script for Popeye I put my characters back on the old 'Leota' that I knew as a boy, transformed it into a ship and made the Coosa River a salty sea".
Researched and contributed by Sue Abernathy
This page was last updated on: June 24, 2007
One of giant turbines
weight 20 tons
The field of a generator.
Power lines on top of dam..
.***Black and white pictures courtesy of Katy Scott. Taken by her father, Charles Eugene Johnston, July 11, 1923.
