Today
Sandy, Paul Charlie and I took a drive to the J Strom Thurmond Dam, on the
South Carolina side of the lake. Some would argue that life is better at J Strom Thurmond Lake, but its original purpose wasn't to be an oasis.
Our
first stop was the main information center for the Thurmond Lake at Clarks Hill
project.
It was an excellent visitor’s center with lots of information,
interactive exhibits and nice views of the lake and the dam.
The Clarks
Hill Dam was built to initially support flood protection in downtown Augusta.
It was about an 8-year process building the dam, completed in 1954. While it
was being built, Congress actually authorized the Corps to start spending money
on recreation facilities. Eight years in the making, the J Strom Thurmond Dam
was a monumental task for engineers and construction workers in the 1940s and
‘50s.
The $79
million price tag could have been much higher had they not discovered a
motherlode of granite within a mile of the construction site on the Georgia
side of the river. Today, the reservoir’s 71,000 acres of water and 1,200 miles
of shoreline offer ample recreation opportunities while also providing power to
surrounding communities.
The project houses 7 generators and in one hour, a
single generator can produce enough electricity to power more than 200 homes
for one year.
The
recreation did quickly prove to be a huge draw. Thurmond Lake is one of the 10
most visited Corps of Engineers lakes in the nation, serving about 5.5 million
visitors annually. There are numerous
beaches that they have around here. Some of the biggest visited areas are
Clarks Hill Park on the South Carolina side and also Lake Springs Recreation
area on the Georgia side. To put that in perspective, the Grand Canyon gets
about 7 million visitors a year.
The
lake has been the place to play since the dam opened up over 60 years ago, but
very few people know what lies underneath the water in one part of the lake. There
were actually three towns, three sister towns very close together where the
Broad River and the Savannah River come together. Those towns popped up in the
late 1700's. The towns would slowly fizzle and by the 1940's, were abandoned to
make way for the lake. It is said that, if the lake does go down far enough you
can see old outlines of where buildings and roads used to be.
The
three sister towns may be long gone, but the controversy surrounding the name
of the dam and lake lingers. The dam was originally named after the town of
Clarks Hill. In the early months of 1988, the dam was officially renamed the J
Strom Thurmond Dam and Lake. Lake Strom Thurmond, officially designated J Strom
Thurmond Reservoir at the federal level, and Clarks Hill Lake by the state of
Georgia. There was a big protest after that. On the Georgia side, they went to
their state legislators and they actually passed a bill that said if you're in
the state of Georgia, spending state dollars on this lake, you may call the
lake Clarks Hill. Both names are still used.
We took the West Dam Road to see what was there. We found this sign and did not turn around, because we are just to curious! It ends at a boat launch!
But, we did find this unique quail habitat area. Georgia has been known as a premiere quail-hunting destination for over 100 years and the Georgia General Assembly designated the bobwhite as the State Gamebird in 1970.
Plum
Branch Yacht Club was established on March 2, 1996 by George Selfridge and Bea
McClain. They were selected by the Corps of Engineers to operate the business
on Lake J Strom Thurmond (aka Clarks Hill Lake). It is a private lake paradise
with pristine waters for all things aquatic, a vacation get-away spot for
families, and a safe-haven with acres for children to enjoy childhood-wanderings,
activities and explorations. They have permanent summer homes, RV camping sites
along the shore, a marina, and grill.
We
enjoyed a quiet evening at Big Hart COE, as it is our last night here … wish we
had booked a longer time here … it is beautiful!
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