The Dale Hollow Reservoir is an artificial lake situated on the Kentucky/Tennessee border. The lake is formed by the damming of the Obey River, 7.3 miles above its juncture with the Cumberland River at river mile 380. Portions of the lake also cover the Wolf River. It is also the site of Dale Hollow Lake State Park on the north side. Dale Hollow Reservoir lies mainly in northern Tennessee, where it covers portions of Clay, Pickett, Overton and Fentress Counties. Small arms of the lake also extend northward into the Kentucky counties of Cumberland and Clinton. The project consists of 27,700 acres of water and 24,842 acres of surrounding land.
The lake takes its name from William Dale, a government surveyor and veteran of the War of 1812. Settling originally in Willow Grove, Mr. Dale bought his first 449 acres of land nearby in 1808. The farm eventually grew into a plantation known as Dale Hollow; he and his descendants lived there until the dam was started in 1942. The waters of the lake would ultimately cover both the farm and Willow Grove, “the town that drowned”.
Dale Hollow Dam and Lake was authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1938 and the River and Harbor Act of 1946. The project was completed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in 1943, making the lake the oldest artificial lake in Kentucky.Hydroelectric power generating units were added in 1948, 1949 and 1953. The project was designed by the Corps of Engineers and built under their supervision by private contractors. The hydroelectric generators of Dale Hollow Dam are used to supply power to the surrounding countryside. The dam, power plant and reservoir are currently operated by the Nashville District of the Corps.
The lake takes its name from William Dale, a government surveyor and veteran of the War of 1812. Settling originally in Willow Grove, Mr. Dale bought his first 449 acres of land nearby in 1808. The farm eventually grew into a plantation known as Dale Hollow; he and his descendants lived there until the dam was started in 1942. The waters of the lake would ultimately cover both the farm and Willow Grove, “the town that drowned”. Dale Hollow Dam and Lake was authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1938 and the River and Harbor Act of 1946. The project was completed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in 1943, making the lake the oldest artificial lake in Kentucky.Hydroelectric power generating units were added in 1948, 1949 and 1953. The project was designed by the Corps of Engineers and built under their supervision by private contractors. The hydroelectric generators of Dale Hollow Dam are used to supply power to the surrounding countryside. The dam, power plant and reservoir are currently operated by the Nashville District of the Corps.
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A few weeks ago Stephen took me to meet up with an old friend of his, the man who every die-hard smallmouth fishermen has dreamt of being at least once in their life - David L. Hayes, World Record Smallmouth Bass holder. As soon as we walked in the door you couldn't help but wonder, "Where is it?", but we weren't really there to see the fish, we were there to see the man. David started laying right into Stephen with the jokes, and for a man who's getting up there in age, he's sharp as a tack. He told us some great stories of back in the day about him and his fishing buddies, and every one of those stories had a punch line that put us in tears laughing.
FOR YEARS, RESORTS around Dale Hollow Lake in Tennessee survived mostly because of the fishery's impressive past. After all, D.L. Hayes boated an 11-15 world-record smallmouth there in 1955. John Gorman followed with a 10-14 in 1969.
