Last updated: April 18, 2026
- Type: Unincorporated communities (often treated as one)
- Founded: c. 1905–1913
- Named for: Likely the Hale family (Haletown); Guild's naming unclear
Haletown and Guild sit along the Tennessee River in the eastern portion of Marion County, on former Native American lands that later became farmland. Both communities owe their existence to a single massive early-20th-century industrial project: the construction of Hales Bar Dam (1905–1913), which required thousands of workers and prompted the rapid build-out of housing in the area.
Pre-dam era
The Tennessee River through this section cut through part of the "Grand Canyon of Tennessee", the Tennessee River Gorge, and included rapids nicknamed The Suck, The Boiling Pot, The Skillet, and The Frying Pan. These rapids made the river dangerous for steamboats and flatboats and destroyed many. The stretch was sparsely settled through most of the 19th century.
Rankin's Ferry, an important river crossing, operated between Guild and Shellmound well into the late 1920s.
Hales Bar Dam era (1905–1913)
Work on Hales Bar Dam, an early attempt by the Tennessee Electric Power Company (TEPCO) to tame the river gorge, brought thousands of workers to the area. Haletown and Guild grew rapidly to house them: boarding houses, small stores, and worker cottages went up to serve the construction camps. The dam was completed in 1913.
After the dam
Once the dam was finished, the construction workforce dispersed, and Haletown and Guild settled into their role as small river-frontage communities. Hales Bar Dam itself was replaced by TVA's Nickajack Dam in 1967, and the old Hales Bar reservoir was superseded by Nickajack Lake.
Today Haletown and Guild are rural unincorporated communities within the Chattanooga metropolitan area, with a mix of long-time families and newer lakeside homes.
Landmarks and features
- Former Hales Bar Dam site (the original dam was dismantled after Nickajack was built)
- Nickajack Lake waterfront
- Rankin's Ferry historical site (former crossing between Guild and Shellmound)