Sam Rayburn Reservoir is a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contr ...

in the United States in

Deep East Texas East Texas is a broadly defined cultural, geographic, and ecological region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas that comprises most of 41 counties. It is primarily divided into Northeast and Southeast Texas. Most of the region con ...

, north of

Beaumont Beaumont may refer to: Places Canada * Beaumont, Alberta * Beaumont, Quebec England * Beaumont, Cumbria * Beaumont, Essex ** Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s * Beaumont Street, Oxford France (communes) * Beaumont, Ardèche * ...

. The reservoir is fed by the

Angelina River The Angelina River is formed by the junction of Barnhardt and Shawnee creeks northwest of Laneville in southwest central Rusk County, Texas. The river flows southeast for and forms the boundaries between Cherokee and Nacogdoches, Angelina an ...

, the major tributary of the

Neches River The Neches River () begins in Van Zandt County west of Rhine Lake and flows for through the piney woods of east Texas, defining the boundaries of 14 counties on its way to its mouth on Sabine Lake near the Rainbow Bridge. Two major reservoirs, ...

. The Reservoir is upstream of the Big Thicket National Preserve. The reservoir's capacity is , and is the largest lake wholly within the state of Texas. The reservoir is operated by the

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

, Fort Worth district.

History

Construction began September 7, 1956, and the reservoir began serving its purpose on March 29, 1965. The main purposes of the reservoir are flood control,

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

power generation, and conservation of water. Construction costs, including those for recreation facilities, were estimated at about $66 million. It was known as McGee Bend Dam and Reservoir until 1963. In September of that year, the

88th Congress The 88th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 196 ...

adopted a special resolution changing the name to "Sam Rayburn Dam and Reservoir" in honor of the recently deceased

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hunger ...

Sam Rayburn Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn (January 6, 1882 – November 16, 1961) was an American politician who served as the 43rd speaker of the United States House of Representatives. He was a three-time House speaker, former House majority leader, two-time ...

, a long-time champion of soil and water conservation. Dedication ceremonies were held on May 8, 1965. In accordance with the 1945 federal Rivers and Harbors Act, four reservoirs were originally approved for the Neches and Angelina Rivers Basin. They were designated as Dam A, Dam B, Rockland, and McGee Bend. The first to be built was Dam B, completed on the Neches River in 1953. The name was changed to Town Bluff Dam and B. A. Steinhagen Reservoir, but locals still refer to it as Dam B. In 1955, Congress approved the funding for McGee Bend Dam and Reservoir, and construction began in 1957. Congress changed the name to Sam Rayburn Dam and Reservoir in 1963, and it was formally dedicated in 1965. The Dam A and Rockland dams, which were to be on the Neches River upstream from the convergence of the Neches and Angelina Rivers, were deemed to be unnecessary and listed as "deferred". Lake Sam Rayburn can be crossed on

Texas State Highway 147 State Highway 147 (SH 147) is a state highway that runs from Zavalla north near to Shelbyville in Deep East Texas. The route was designated on March 19, 1930 as a renumbering of SH 8B from San Augustine to Zavalla. On March 26, 1942, SH 147 wa ...

and is a popular recreation destination, both for boating and fishing, with

game fish Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish pursued by recreational anglers, and can be freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, or released after capture. Some game fish are also targeted commercial ...

species in the lake including

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, ...

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 an ...

, and

channel catfish The channel catfish (''Ictalurus punctatus'') is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States, the ...

. Due to the abundance of bass, it is home to more than 300 tournaments annually, which include tournaments such as the Bassmaster Elite Series and Opens, BASS Champs, BFL, Major League Fishing, Toyota Series, the Cabela's Texas Team Trail, Angler's Quest, Bass-n-Bucks, and McDonald's Big Bass Splash. In 2018, Lake Sam Rayburn was ranked number one by ''Bassmaster'' magazine for being the best bass lake in the nation.

Notable people

The science-fiction and fantasy writer

Ardath Mayhar Ardath Frances Hurst Mayhar (February 20, 1930 – February 1, 2012) was an American writer and poet. Mayhar wrote over 60 books ranging from science fiction to horror to young adult to historical to westerns, Some of her novels appeared under ...

lived near Sam Rayburn Lake, on a homestead bordering the Attoyac River above the lake. She wrote her tales there and also at a local bookstore she ran."Deep Woods Lady", ''Starlog'' issue #159, October 1990 (a long interview with Ardath Mayhar)

References

External links

Sam Rayburn Lake Home Page
*
Corps of Engineers Lake Sam Rayburn Home Page
{{authority control Protected areas of Angelina County, Texas Geography of Texas Protected areas of Jasper County, Texas Reservoirs in Texas Protected areas of Sabine County, Texas Protected areas of San Augustine County, Texas 1956 establishments in Texas Dams in Texas United States Army Corps of Engineers dams Bodies of water of Angelina County, Texas Bodies of water of Jasper County, Texas Bodies of water of Sabine County, Texas Bodies of water of San Augustine County, Texas

History

Notable people

References

Further reading

External links