the fort loudoun association was one of several groups to oppose the tennessee valley authority's construction of tellico dam at the mouth of the little tennessee river in the 1960s, as the fort would be flooded by the dam's reservoir. at a contentious public meeting on the proposed dam in 1964, legendary local judge sue k. hicks, the fort loudoun association's president, engaged in a verbal altercation with tva chairman aubrey wagner. tva eventually agreed to fund the raising and reconstruction of the fort. the agency also funded extensive archaeological excavations at the site, which were conducted by the tennessee division of archaeology in 1975–1976. the fla turned over ownership of the fort to the state of tennessee for the creation of a state park in 1978.