After a decade of challenges acquiring the rights to build the dam, in 1922 Alabama Power, under Thomas Martin’s leadership, was issued preliminary permits by The Federal Power Commission to develop the Tallapoosa River. The license for Cherokee Bluffs was granted on June 9, 1923 and construction began on July 24, 1923. The plant proposed would generate more horsepower than Alabama Power’s two previous projects, Mitchell Dam and Lay Dam, and construction would cost as much as ten million dollars. It was also made known to the public that the dam would flood some 40,000 acres, an area over 3 times the size of Mitchell Lake and the Lay Dam reservoir combined, and create the largest body of water in the state.