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Former residents of Old Butler reflect on life in the town flooded by TVA
By Ashley Rader
Photo by Brandon Hicks
Pearl Matherly, Carter Isaacs and Anna Dugger were teenagers when they had to move out of old Butler because it was being flooded to allow for the creation of the Watauga Dam. The primary purpose for creating the lake was for flood control. The trio stands on one of the roads that led into old Butler and is now used as a boat access ramp into Watauga Lake. The town of old Butler will be celebrated during Old Butler Days on Aug. 10 and 11 at Babe Curtis Park in Butler.
In early August, the Old Butler Days festival will be held in Butler to celebrate the town’s history as the “town that wouldn’t drown.” In 1948, the old town of Butler was flooded by the Tennessee Valley Authority during the creation of the Watauga Dam. For some of the residents of new Butler, memories of life in old Butler are always fresh and present in their minds.
Anna Dugger, Carter Isaacs and Pearl Matherly were all teenagers when the town of Butler was flooded. They were all members of the last class of students to attend Watauga Academy, which was the high school in old Butler. When they left old Butler for the new town, Dugger was 15 years old, Isaacs was 18 years old and Matherly was 19 years old.
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