Lay Dam is a hydroelectric power dam on the

Coosa River The Coosa River is a tributary of the Alabama River in the U.S. states of Alabama and Georgia. The river is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 2011 ...

in Chilton County and Coosa County, near

Clanton, Alabama Clanton is a city in Chilton County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Birmingham–Hoover–Cullman Combined Statistical Area. At the 2020 census, the population was . The city is the county seat of Chilton County. Clanton is near the ...

.Tharpe, Bill
"Lay Dam and Lake"
encyclopediaofalabama.org, January 7, 2009, updated October 5, 2010. The concrete run-of-the-river gravity dam was built in 1914 as the first major project of

Alabama Power Company Alabama Power Company, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, is a company in the southern United States that provides electricity service to 1.4 million customers in the southern two-thirds of Alabama. It also operates appliance stores. It is one ...

, and named for Captain William Patrick Lay, its first president. The dam's hydroelectric facility has a generating capacity of . The construction of the dam flooded the original site of

Fort Williams Fort Williams Park is a 90-acre park in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, encompassing numerous historical sites. Perhaps most famous for having Portland Head Light on its grounds, the park also encompasses the decommissioned and largely demolished Unite ...

, which was used during the

Creek War The Creek War (1813–1814), also known as the Red Stick War and the Creek Civil War, was a regional war between opposing Indigenous American Creek factions, European empires and the United States, taking place largely in modern-day Alabama ...

Lay Lake

Lay Lake covers and has a shoreline about long. It is a recreational lake with fishing opportunities for large mouth bass, spotted bass, bluegill and other sunfish, crappie, catfish, striped bass, hybrid and white bass. Lay Lake has hosted the

Bassmaster Classic The Bassmaster Classic (known as the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic for sponsorship) is a tournament in the sport of professional bass fishing. It was first held in 1971 on Lake Mead, Nevada. Originally it was a fall event, (1971-1983 ...

four times: 1996, 2002, 2007, and 2010. Alabama Power maintains seven public access sites on the lake.

References

{{Authority control Dams in Alabama Alabama Power dams Buildings and structures in Chilton County, Alabama Buildings and structures in Coosa County, Alabama Properties on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage Run-of-the-river power stations Hydroelectric power plants in Alabama Gravity dams Dams completed in 1914 Energy infrastructure completed in 1914