Designed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and built by private contractors, Center Hill Dam is 240 feet high and 2,160 feet long and impounds 64 miles of the Caney Fork River. Congress authorized the dam in 1938 to reduce flood damage in the Cumberland, Ohio, and Mississippi River valleys. Construction began in 1942, was suspended in 1943 due to World War II, resumed in 1946, and was completed in 1951, the same year that three hydropower turbine-generator units at Center Hill Powerhouse began generating electricity. Water surges 160 feet from an intake on the reservoir to the units in the powerhouse, and the generated power is transferred to the switchyard for public distribution. Collectively, the units have a capacity of 135,000 kilowatts, enough to provide electricity to a city of 125,000 people. The powerhouse's Art Deco-Art Moderne architecture is typical of the period 1942-1952, when it was under construction.