Jim Chapman Dam (originally Cooper Dam, National ID # TX08012) is a dam in Delta County and Hopkins County, Texas, United States. The earthen dam was constructed in 1991 by the

Southwestern Division The United States Army Corps of Engineers Southwestern Division (SWD) is one of the eight permanent divisions of the Army organization, providing civil works and military water resource services and infrastructure. It also supports economically ...

of the United States Army Corps of Engineers with a height of 95 feet, and a length of 28,072 feet at its crest. It impounds the south fork of the

Sulphur River The Sulphur River is a river in northeast Texas and southwest Arkansas in the United States. Geography The Sulphur River begins at the confluence of its north and south forks forming (following earlier meanders) the northern and southern bounda ...

for municipal water supply and recreation. The dam is owned and operated by the Corps of Engineers. The reservoir it creates,

Jim Chapman Lake Jim Chapman Lake (also known as Cooper Lake) is a impoundment operated by the Army Corps of Engineers and is located east of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in the state of Texas. The reservoir was created by the 1991 Jim Chapman Dam and imp ...

, has a water surface and a maximum capacity of . The lake is known as a preferred location for fishing in the region. Species likely to be caught are blue and channel catfish,

bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and ...

, Florida largemouth bass,

crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxis'' ...

and hybrid

striped bass The striped bass (''Morone saxatilis''), also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has al ...

. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's two separate units of Cooper Lake State Park are located on Jim Chapman Lake. The Dam was formerly known as Cooper Dam. Both lake and dam were renamed by an act of Congress in 1998 to honor Jim Chapman, a former

congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

from nearby Sulphur Springs.

References

Dams in Texas United States Army Corps of Engineers dams Dams completed in 1991 Buildings and structures in Delta County, Texas Buildings and structures in Hopkins County, Texas Earth-filled dams 1991 establishments in Texas {{US-dam-stub