Throwback Thursday: History of the Barren River Dam

Signed into law by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Flood Control Act of 1938 authorized dams, levees and other flood control measures throughout many states, including Kentucky. One of those projects was the Barren River Dam that formed the lake and made the state park there possible. The Glasgow Daily Times proclaimed the dam would create the largest lake in Kentucky, and some hoped it would include a hydro-electric plant. Though it didn’t live up to those predictions, the dam, the lake and the park continue to have important impacts on southcentral Kentucky.

In 1955, serious conversations began for this enormous endeavor, eventually costing over $27 million dollars. Congressman William Natcher strongly advocated for it. Between 1940 and 1950, one hundred thousand people had left southcentral Kentucky in search of jobs, and Natcher believed the dam would help change that. Opposition, though, didn’t want farm land underwater. Judge Noel Harper of Scottsville dismissed the project, saying “This will not be a power dam and, therefore, it can’t help us.” A local delegation opposing it visited Washington D.C. and funding was removed. That money was diverted to the Nolin Dam project.

Natcher didn’t give up though, and support began to grow. An initial budget for planning was approved in 1957, with a million dollars for the start of construction allocated in 1959, in a bill that President Eisenhower vetoed. Congress overrode that though. More than twenty thousand acres were purchased in three counties: Allen, Barren, and Monroe. Ground was broken on April 16, 1960. Several family cemeteries were moved to higher ground. Sixteen roads, forty miles worth, had to be diverted. Fifteen bridges were built. Construction may have taken years, but progress went fast. With the help of floodlights, shifts worked both days and nights, and the project was finally completed in 1964.

The earthen dam rises one hundred and forty six feet. A one hundred and seventy five foot tower operates its three gates, discharging as much as thirteen thousand cubic feet of water per second. The dam prevents major flooding on the Barren and Green rivers. The park provides many recreational opportunities, including boating, waterskiing, fishing, hiking and golfing.

Originally named Barren River Dam Number 2, because of the dam at Greencastle that was just recently removed, it was sometimes referred to as the Port Oliver Dam during its construction. Port Oliver had been a town at that location in the 1800s, with a store, post office and salt mining operations, that had long since disappeared.

We sourced many editions of the Bowling Green Daily News, as well as the Glasgow Daily Times for this episode.