Long Branch State Park is a public recreation area occupying adjacent to the Long Branch Reservoir in Macon County,

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. The

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

consists of three units located some two miles west of

Macon, Missouri Macon is a city in and the county seat of Macon County, Missouri, United States. The population was 5,457 at the 2020 census. History Macon was platted in 1856. Like the county, Macon was named for Nathaniel Macon. A post office called Macon Cit ...

on U.S. Highway 36.

History

Flooding along the

Little Chariton River Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

was an ongoing problem for the residents of Macon County and elsewhere in northeast Missouri since the area was first settled in the 1830s. Extensive channelization of the main Chariton River by private entities, local governments, and the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

, while alleviating flooding issues in some areas, exacerbated them for others. Long Branch Dam was authorized by Congress in 1965 as a multi-purpose project for water supply, flood control, recreation, downstream water quality and fish/wildlife management. Construction began in 1973 and the dam began operating in 1980. Long Branch Lake is the reservoir created by the dam, with about 24 miles of shoreline and a flood-control capacity of 98,000

acre-feet The acre-foot is a non- SI unit of volume equal to about commonly used in the United States in reference to large-scale water resources, such as reservoirs, aqueducts, canals, sewer flow capacity, irrigation water, and river flows. An acr ...

. In addition to the adjacent state-run state park, the dam has a visitors center at its southern end, and the Atlanta State Wildlife Area at its northern end near

Atlanta, Missouri Atlanta is a city in Macon County, Missouri, United States. The population was 379 at the 2020 census. History Atlanta was platted in 1858. The community was named after Atlanta, Georgia. A post office called Atlanta has been in operation since ...

. Long Branch State Park was created by the

Missouri Department of Natural Resources The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MoDNR) of the government of the U.S. state of Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied fo ...

in 1983 after reaching a long term lease agreement with the Corps of Engineers for use of the land.

Activities and Amenities

The state park features a wide variety of outdoor activities including boating, swimming, water skiing, fishing, hiking trails, picnicking facilities, three boat ramps, marina, and camping area. The large public acreage surrounding the lake provide opportunities for viewing

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey, which was originally d ...

, and migratory waterfowl.

References

External links

Long Branch State Park
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Long Branch State Park Map
Missouri Department of Natural Resources {{authority control State parks of Missouri Protected areas of Macon County, Missouri Protected areas established in 1983 United States Army Corps of Engineers dams 1983 establishments in Missouri