In looking up the Knox County Keller Bend Park, there appears to be another 28 acres in the area along Keller Bend Road named Keller Bend Rd #1 Park. The Knox County Keller Bend Park is labeled #2 Park.

Both are owned by the United States of America!

I suppose Knox County is leasing the #2 park. Just not maintaining?

Both are owned by the United States of America!

As usual, while I'm rambling on the Mrs. is doing the actual research.

When it's on the lake and says it's owned by the "USA", that usually means "TVA", which usually means it was taken by eminent domain.

Which in the past also meant a prime target for luxury lakefront developers.

That may have changed with the new policy, so maybe Knox County ought not to be reluctant to revive the park.

It is a long story. The County took away several passive parks in West Knox to pay for the 7 islands park. They sold off some of the lakefront property that was in West Knox County/TVA trust to pay for the other in east? south? Knox County. (that was the story we were told)

That meant the Keller Bend and Wrights Ferry Bluff and one other lakefront parcel of land that was a county park/ wildlife refuge got sold to to offset the cost of the 7 island wildlife refuge across town. (?)

Don't think that I and a lot of other people didn't write letters and show up at meetings and do all we could to prevent a county "park" and especially wild property in the public domain from being sold.

So far nothing bad has happened to Wrights Ferry Bluff.

Bill Sansom bought it. And, I have to add, Rocky Hill locals say that he did that
to save it from a "developer" buying the land.

He lives in Rocky Hill and loves the area too.

I wrote a letter to TVA/Knox County parks (Doug Batelle)listing the species that live on the bluff. Eagles/osprey and an occasional bear. Of course, lots of deer, hawks, owls, etc. Showed up as did many other people at several TVA meetings too.

But, it was a "done deal" regardless of public opinion. The sales of the wildlife refuges on the west side of the river went through to supposedly to "pay for the park on the south side of town"

Not sure which private individual bought the lakefront Keller Bluff (former County park property) from the County.

hummmm

suggest calling the Parks and Recreation Director Doug Bataille at 865-215-6600 or email him at doug.bataille@knoxcounty.org

On the subject of parks that are hard to find, is there a Jones Bend Blount County Park at the end of Wrights Ferry Rd., as this Google Map suggests?

No, I don't think so.

Funny you should mention it. We went driving around looking for it a few weeks ago and we couldn't find it. I believe it was where Peninsula Hospital is now.

It doesn't show up on the Blount Co. Parks and Recs website any more, and my latest DeLorme Tennessee Gazetteer doesn't show it either.

According to KGIS, both Keller Bend parks are still owned by TVA and have NOT been sold off.

There is a long history with both parks, but particularly the one at the end of Keller Bend Rd. near Mariner's Point. Back in the early to mid 70's it was closed off because of all the nefarious activities happening there. At that time the area was very undeveloped and not very populated. A lot of drinking, drug use and other crimes such as dumping off stolen vehicles went on there. At that time, the road pretty much dead ended straight into the lake. The few residents that lived near it had the county come and erect barriers and signs closing it off. Due to its remoteness, etc., expecting the KCSD to patol it was not realistic.

The other KB park is totally land locked with the exception of where it backs up to the lake itself. This 28 acres or so is pretty much verticle as it encompasses the face of the bluff itself. Any access to it over land and parking would be on someone else's property. Trying to develop this as a public park would be expensive and involve purchasing other acreage just in order to access it.

Being as I used to live in the area at the time, this is how all of this got started.

From my link posted previously:
(link...)

Request by Knox County for Deed Modification
Draft Environmental Assessment
Request for deed modification affecting 37.8 acres on Tennessee Valley Authority Tract numbers XTFL-79, XTFL-80, and XTFL-86 (Wright and Keller Bluffs)

TVA proposes to modify the deed on three tracts of Knox County-owned property. These three properties are identified by TVA as Tract Numbers XTFL-79, XTFL-80, and XTFL-86 and are located in Knox County, Tennessee, on the north shore of Fort Loudoun Reservoir.

The three tracts of land totaling 37.8 acres are on the Tennessee River between Tennessee River miles 623 and 634 on the northern shore. They were among five tracts purchased by TVA as part of the original project to establish Fort Loudoun Reservoir in the early 1940s. They were originally designated as protection areas for principal scenic features of this reservoir and public access.

TVA transferred the properties above the 820 mean sea level (msl) contour elevation in 1952 under Section 4(k)(a) of the TVA Act. Consistent with Section 4(k)(a), the Deed of Transfer specifies that Knox County must use the property for public recreation purposes for the benefit of all members of the public.

Knox County proposes to sell the three tracts of public recreation land and use the proceeds to offset acquisition costs on 58 acres purchased by the county in November 2001 for the Seven Islands Nature Preserve project on the French Broad River in Knox County. Potential buyers desire to use the three tracts for residential use, which would require a deed modification from TVA.

Knox County has requested that TVA modify the deeds of the Fort Loudoun tracts to remove the public recreation use restrictions. A deed modification would allow Knox County to sell the tracts above the 820-msl contour elevation to private individuals. Knox County has evaluated the public impacts and benefits of this proposed action and determined that it would have substantial benefits for the public.

Two action alternatives have been developed that provide for deed modification of the three tracts. The two alternatives differ mainly in the amount of scenic protection they provide for the two undisturbed bluff sites.

Documents
The entire draft environmental assessment can be viewed here:

Knox County Deed Modification (PDF file, 1.4 mb, requires Adobe Acrobat Reader):

For further information, or if you would like to receive a printed copy, please contact:

Helen Rucker
TVA, 400 West Summit Hill Dr. WT 8C
Knoxville, TN 37902
865-632-6506