The Summersville Dam and Reservoir

By Jody Brumage

Fifty years ago, President Lyndon Johnson traveled to Summersville, West Virginia to dedicate a new dam and reservoir on the Gauley River. The Summersville Dam is the second-largest rock-fill dam in the eastern United States at 390 feet in height and 2,280 feet in length. The adjoining reservoir forms the largest lake in West Virginia. However, the project represents much more to the history of the state than its technical achievements.​

President Lyndon Johnson and Lady Bird dedicate the Summersville Dam in 1966.

A map showing the reservoir and its associated recreational amenities.

​The 75th Congress passed the Flood Control Act of 1938, authorizing funds for the construction of several projects throughout the United States. The act called for the development of flood control infrastructure that also supported improved river and stream quality and also promoted recreation. However, construction on the Summersville Dam did not begin for over 20 years due to delays caused by World War II and difficulty in securing funding. By 1960, excavation work began on a diversion tunnel, over 1,900 feet in length. When completed, the construction of the dam progressed, wrapping up in 1965 when the dam was topped out.

​Throughout its construction, residents of nearby towns witnessed hundreds of Army Corps of Engineers workers and the movement of heavy machinery and stone needed to build the dam. However, they were also preparing for the promise of tourists who would visit ​the reservoir to enjoy recreational activities. The plan for the reservoir included scenic overlooks, picnic areas, swimming areas, boat ramps, and campgrounds. In a press release dated November 2, 1965, Senator Byrd reported that the Army Corps of Engineers expected over 1 million tourists to visit the Summersville Reservoir annually.

For nearby towns, the promise of increased tourism offered a new economic force to help bring the region out of decades of decline as the coal and timber industries diminished their operations. The promise of increased recreation business was important for Senator Byrd and the rest of the West Virginia congressional delegation as well. Since the early 1960s during the Kennedy Administration, the federal government placed significant emphasis on building up local recreational and scenic landmarks to drive economic growth in depressed areas. President Lyndon Johnson incorporated this effort into his Great Society, and Senators Byrd and Randolph recognized the opportunity to bring tourist dollars into West Virginia.

[Above] Pamphlets describing the Summersville Dam and Reservoir distributed in the summer of 1966 leading up to President Johnson's visit and the dedication.

[Below] The dedication of the Summersville Dam. Congressman John Slack is the first on the left and to the right of the sign are Lady Bird and President Johnson, Senator Jennings Randolph, and Senator Byrd. Representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers are also present among the group.

​On Saturday, September 3, 1966, Senators Byrd and Randolph and West Virginia Congressmen John Slack, Harley O. Staggers, Sr., James Kee, and Arch Moore, Jr. joined President Lyndon Johnson to dedicate the Summersville Dam. During his remarks, the president recognized Senator Randolph’s leadership of the Senate Committee on Public Works and Senator Byrd’s role in the Senate Appropriations Committee. President Johnson remarked “As we look out at this magnificent new dam and reservoir to our backs, I have renewed hope that still other resources--the power of science and the determination of man--will, along with a little prayer and a good deal of dynamite, empower us to quench the thirst of generations to come.”

The Summersville Dam and Reservoir have both proven beneficial to the state over the last half century. Tourism did increase with the opening of recreational facilities around the reservoir, benefiting the nearby city of Summersville and becoming part of the Gauley River National Recreation Area in 1988. The dam has also proven to be an effective control against flooding on the historically-volatile Gauley River. Summersville Dam is one of three dams that control the water flowing into the Kanawha River Basin. In the summer of 2016 as a front stalled over West Virginia and dumped historic levels of rain across the eastern and southern regions of the state, the dam held back 42 feet of water which could have led to serious flooding in the state capitol of Charleston had the dam system not been in place.

An aerial view of the dam and reservoir taken in the late 1960s.

​The Summersville Dam and Reservoir represent the strength of comprehensive infrastructure projects as planned by congressional leaders like Senators Jennings Randolph and Robert Byrd. Nearly eighty years after its conception, the Summersville Dam continues to provide successful flood control while also supporting the local economy through recreation. On a broader level, the project serves as an example of how capital investment in infrastructure programs can benefit both local and state economies.

A recent aerial view of the Summersville Dam taken by the Huntington Division of the Army Corps of Engineers which maintains the dam and reservoir.