Old Hickory Lake
Old Hickory Lake is a mainstream storage impoundment on the Cumberland River operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The reservoir contains 22,500 surface acres at an elevation of 445 feet (above sea level) and extends 97.3 river miles. The counties surrounding Old Hickory Lake include Davidson, Sumner, Wilson, Trousdale, and Smith Counties. The water shed area (the area of land from which the water feeds the lake) covers 11,674 square miles. Additionally there are 9,134 acres of fee property and 3,651 acres of easement. There are 440 miles of shoreline and the lake contains 467,000 acre-feet of water.
There are numerous natural and recreational resources created by the lake including social, economic and environmental benefits for all. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages these resources.
Some of the social benefits of this lake include numerous opportunities for active recreation. There are 70 recreation areas, 279 picnic sites, 264 camping sites (though camping on the islands is not permitted) and 21 play grounds.
For those wanting to get in the water there are 8 swimming areas, 11 fishing docks, 55 boat ramps, 11 marinas and 1,498 marina slips. The two designated camping areas are Cages Bend and Cedar Creek. There are three day-use fee areas located at Cedar Creek, Laguardo and Old Hickory Beach. Each of the areas offers swimming beaches, picnic tables, grills, restrooms, and boat ramps.
Some of the other recreation areas include:
Rockland: Located in Hendersonville, TN, Rockland offers four reservable shelters, one with kitchen facilities, gazebo, fishing platform, playground, boat launch ramp, sand volleyball, several picnic sites, and restroom facilities. Rockland is the perfect choice for larger gatherings
Lock 3: Located in Hendersonville, TN, Lock 3 offers a sand beach, picnic sites, a boat launch ramp, and restroom facilities.
Avondale: Located in Gallatin, TN, Avondale offers a reservable group picnic shelter, picnic sites, boat launch ramp, and restroom facilities.
Near the Dam on the Old Hickory side you can enjoy 4 miles of trail. This trail has three loops. Each loop has unique characteristics. All loops return along a railroad bed. The railroad was built in 1952 to haul materials and equipment for the construction of Old Hickory Dam.
These recreation experiences increase motivation to learn more about the environment; understanding and awareness of environmental issues; and sensitivity to the environment.
Old Hickory Lock and Dam
The Old Hickory Lock and Dam that formed the lake was authorized for construction by the River and Harbors Act of 1946 as part of the development plan for the Cumberland River Basin. Built by private contractors under the supervision of the Corp construction started in January 1952 at a total cost of 48,681,700.
A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo from 1953 is labeled with components of the Old Hickory dam project. The aggregate stockpiles are for mixing concrete. File/The Tennessean
The total length of Old Hickory Dam is 3,750 feet; 145 feet of that being the navigation lock, 2,870 feet of earth and embankment, 355 feet of spillway, and the balance of 380 feet consisting of the powerhouse intake section. At the dam, there is a lock that was constructed for navigation purposes which has a maximum lift of 63 feet from below the dam to above the dam, with a chamber size of 84 feet by 400 feet.
Construction of the dam took 460,800 cubic yards of concrete; 1,650,600 cubic yards of earth excavation; 169,000 cubic yards of rock excavation; 432,600 cubic yards of earth fill; and 18,900 cubic yards of rock fill and riprap.
The dam was completed in June of 1954 and by December of 1957 the final hydroelectric power unit was placed and put into operation.
Water rushes through the spillway of Old Hickory Dam in January 1955. A temporary cofferdam holds it back from the area where the dam's generating plant was to be built. (JACK CORN / FILE / THE TENNESSEAN)
A panoramic view shows the Old Hickory power plant nearing completion in August 1956. A temporary cofferdam remains in place until the unit is ready a few months later. In the background are smokestacks of Dupont’s rayon and cellophane plants at Old Hickory. File/The Tennessean
The dam was closed and the filling of the lake began June 11, 1954. The lock opened to navigation June 14, 1954 and electrical power began production April 1957.
On Sept. 20, 1956, the dam was beginning to flood vast areas behind it. Dotted lines were added to show where the water would spread. Joe Rudis/ File/The Tennessean
Old Hickory Lake takes shape behind the dam on Sept. 22, 1956, flooding bottomland where farm structures once stood. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sold hay off the fields and even sold farm buildings for salvage before the flooding. Joe Rudis/ File/The Tennessean
In the end, when the giant dam's gates were first closed starting in 1954 and the river began to back up, Nashvillians and others marveled at the sight of the new lake.
A flotilla of pleasure boats from Donelson loaded with 16 boaters waits to pass through the lock of Old Hickory Dam in July 1957. The group, led by Charles Hershiser, had just finished a 650- mile expedition in six days over the Tennessee, Ohio and Cumberland rivers from Guntersville, Ala., to Nashville. File/The Tennessean
When the dam's lock held a "grand opening" to lift little pleasure boats in September 1956, an estimated 10,000 people jammed the dam to see it.
I originally submitted this as an Earth Cache but I was informed that what I had here was an anthropological history lesson rather than a geology lesson. I didn't want to waste all this good info so I included here.