The first town called Fontana in North Carolina was a tent town of the Montvale Lumber Company in 1890. The name was given by Mrs. George Leidy Wood, wife of the vice-president of the company. A permanent town was constructed nearby in 1907 to support nearby copper mines, and an extension of the
Murphy Branch of the
Southern Railway was constructed from Bushnell, 15 miles away. In January, 1942, construction of the Fontana Dam began, and by 1945 this original town had been evacuated. The current town is based around the village built to support the dam construction from 1942 to 1944, so that the dam could produce electricity to power the ALCOA (Aluminum Company Of America) in nearby
Alcoa, Tennessee which is south of
Knoxville. The company was producing aluminum to make military aircraft during World War II. The cottages now rented out for visitors were employee houses. The dining hall is now a cafeteria and the commissary is now the village store. The old lodge was once a hospital and a school was also on the grounds. The children who grew up there during the dam construction times now have an association called "Dam Kids" and they keep in touch and have reunions. The Fontana Inn was dedicated on October 25, 1975. The property was transferred to Guest Services of America (GSA) then sold to Peppertree Corporation of Asheville NC in 1987. The CEO, Wayne Kinzer was later convicted of a felony and the property changed hands several times thereafter. Police services were once handled by village company police of the resort, but with Kinzer's felony conviction, the agency disbanded. The TVA police also patrolled the property which was part of a 100-year ground lease from TVA. With the disbanding of TVA police in 2012, the Graham County Sheriff Department and the NC Highway Patrol are the only police services to the area now.
Incorporation Fontana Dam incorporated as a Town in June 2011. ==Demographics==