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photo courtesy U. S. Corps of Engineers
Falcon's 78,000 acres, and Buchanan's
23,205 acres. The only Texas
lake bragging of bigger statistics is
the nearby 181,600-acre Toledo Bend
Reservoir being constructed on the
Texas-Louisiana border. Toledo Bend
will be the 13th largest man-made
lake in the nation when it is completed.
While producing hydro-electric
power in industry-attracting quantities,
the lake will also serve as a supply
of water for municipal, industrial,
and agricultural needs in the
region, and as a precaution against
floods downstream. The lake is expected
to be in full operation and
supplying hydro-electric power to
the Southeast Texas area not later
than June, 1966.
Aside from these important benefits,
the lake will supply opportunities
for another of the State's fastest
growing industries-outdoor recreation.
The meandering 560-mile shoreline
will be dotted with more than
50 developed recreation areas. Constructed
and maintained by the
Corps of Engineers and the U.S.
Forest Service, facilities will include
tables, camping areas, and barbecue
pits.
New highways necessary to bring
the public to the lake and the new
recreation areas have been planned
and scheduled for construction in the
near future. More than 117 miles
of new roads will be built in the area
to provide avenues of recreational
access for the expected three million
annual visitors.
Named'in honor of the Bonham
statesman who held the U. S. House
Speaker's seat longer than any other
person in history, the Sam Rayburn
Dam was dedicated May 8 by President
Lyndon B. Johnson, via telephone.
This formal dedication climaxed
a $61 million project that originated
soon after the turn of the
century.
As early as 1915, there was talk of
trying to establish a dam on the
Angelina River in this general vicinity,
and by 1936 the U. S. Army
Corps of Engineers had a plan on
paper. Designed to take care of 3,449
square miles of drainage area, the
project was authorized by Congress
in 1945 and the early phases of construction
were started in April, 1956.
Originally scheduled for construction
under the name of Magee Dam,
Congress decided to change the
name to Sam Rayburn Dam five
years after construction was started
and nearly two years after Rayburn's
death in 1961. Congressional friends
had earlier tried to name the vast
Red River reservoir-Lake Texomaafter
him, but Rayburn vetoed the
idea.
Viewed as one of the greatest
boosts to the economy and overall
community life of southeast Texas,
Sam Rayburn dam and reservoir will
soon make their mark on the State's
recreation picture. a*
G IGANTIC IN SIZE, overwhelming
in economic impact, and
greatly befitting the Texas tradition
to have the biggest and best, the new
Sam Rayburn dam and reservoir
near Jasper stands as an appropriate
tribute to one of the State's greatest
statesmen. When filled to operating
level this will be the 14th largest
man-made lake in the nation and the
largest lake entirely within the boundaries
of Texas.
Sprawling up the Angelina River
valley from the dam site 10 miles
northwest of Jasper, the new impoundment
will reach almost to Nacogdoches
and will cover 114,500
surface acres at normal level and
172,000 acres at flood level. These
statistics compare favorably with
Lake Texoma's 95,400 surface acres,
President Lyndon B. Johnson, a life-long friend of the
photo by Paul Hope Bonham statesman, dedicated the $61 million project.
AUGUST, 1965
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