A history of Norris,
since 1933
Postcards, papers and photographs of Norris from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗TVA chairman Arthur Morgan envisioned Norris as a model of cooperative, egalitarian living. The city design was developed by TVA staff, who loosely based their design on the English garden city movement of the 1890s. Winding roads followed the contour of the terrain. Houses did not always face the street. A central common green and a belt of rural land around the town were reserved for use by residents. The houses, which were some of the first all-electric homes, were built using local wood and stone, according to twelve basic house designs that each included a porch and fireplace. Different exterior materials were used for visual variety.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Norris’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old view"Foundation of the community cent…, 1933: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Norris
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Norris, decade by decade
Commons"Foundation of the community center building at Norris town…1933
Commons"Interior of the home of Harriet Hankins at the site of the…1933
Commons"Noon meal at the cafeteria at Norris townsite."1933
Commons"Teams plowing in one of the fields on the TVA demonstratio…1933
Commons"Temporary kitchen serving cafeteria at Norris townsite."1933
Commons"View from the north of the poultry and gardening center of…19331990s
3 historic places in Norris
Norris has 3 listings on the National Register, and they protect 345 historic buildings, because Norris District alone counts 340.
Where they are
When they were listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as "Foundation of the community center building at Norris townsite." (1933) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.