After 20 Years
IN'ort Invest North Carolina finally gets
a pretty lake— and a safeguard against
tlie treacherous Yadkin.
««/
RHODES BATSON
Manager, Will»» County Chamber ol Commerce
Turning adversity to an asset is a
neat trick if you can do it — and
that’s what the people of North¬
western North Carolina have done.
This was accomplished primarily un¬
der leadership of the Flood Control
Committee of the Wilkes Chamber of
Commerce.
In 1916 a great flood of the Yad¬
kin River heaped devastation upon
the low lands. People began to think
a little of flood control, but after a
while, the flood was nearly forgot¬
ten, until 1940 when a hurricane-bred
deluge of water, turned the river into
a raging monster.
Damage to industries, homes, farms,
bridges, roads was staggering. It was
after this disaster that the Wilkesboros
and Elkin got to work in earnest —
but it was a long time before efforts
were successful.
Several flood control plans were ad¬
vanced, congressional policies regard¬
ing flood control changed many times,
at no time was all of our congres¬
sional delegation in Washington in ac¬
cord with the project (although many
worked hard for it). When the final
plan of a single dam was adopted
by the Corps of Engineers, it became
necessary for local interests to put up
a little more than 10 per cent of the
total cost of the project. Wilkes County
was in a dilemma, for the bill could
run as high as a million-two-hundred
thousand dollars. Not only that; there
was no precedent to guide the Cham¬
ber’s Flood Control Committee and
no state law permitting local partici¬
pation in federal projects of this na¬
ture.
After meetings up and down the
Yadkin, Wilkes found an ally in Win¬
ston-Salem, who saw potential in the
reservoir as a water supply. Finally, a
referendum was held in Winston-Salem
and in Wilkes County to raise the
money. In Wilkes County the ref¬
erendum carried by the overwhelming
majority of 40 to 1; it carried in Win¬
ston-Salem, too. So. after 20 years,
ground was broken on the Wilkesboro
Dam in September of 1960.
Because of a good contractor
(Clement Brothers Construction Com¬
pany, Hickory), good weather and
few unforseen difficulties, the project
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was completed almost a year ahead of
schedule. In August of 1962 Richard
Johnston, Chairman of the Chamber’s
Flood Control Committee, Harrold
Mullins, Project Engineer for the Corps
of Engineers, and the writer jointly
pulled hydraulic levers lowering two
five-ton gates into place to start filling
the reservoir.
Not only did the dam, whose name
was changed late in 1962 to the
W. Kerr Scott Dam in honor of the
Senator who worked so dcligcntly for
the project, offer flood control for
many miles down the stream, but the
1500-acre lake behind the dam is said
by many to be one of the prettiest lakes
in the Southeast. Relatively small, the
lake nestles in the foothills of the Blue
Ridge Mountains with Grandfather
Mountain and its neighboring peaks
providing a scenic backdrop.
In the 802 acres of public access
areas around the reservoir will be fa¬
cilities for tent and trailer camping,
picnicking facilities, boat launching
ramps, and scenic overlooks. The lake
has been stocked by the North Caro¬
lina Wildlife Resources Commission
with trout as an experiment, and the
waters already contained abundant
supplies of bream and bass.
Plans call for the establishment of
two concession sites which are ex¬
pected to contain lodge, restaurant,
marinas, boat rentals, etc. These fa¬
cilities will not be available, except
to a limited degree, until next sum¬
mer. This reservoir provides a badly
needed recreational area for North¬
western North Carolina and it likely
will receive maximum use. Already,
well over 2,000 vehicles visit the dam
each week end.
Taking a tip from the problems
around other reservoirs in the South¬
east. chamber of commerce and county
officials started early in planning
for orderly development of privately
owned land around the reservoir. With
co-operation of the Division of Com¬
munity Planning of the Department of
Conservation and Development the
area around the lake was zoned and
sub-division regulations put into ef¬
fect — even before the lake was filled.
After working so long and so hard for
this project, they wanted to keep it as
an asset to the county, the area, and
the state, an area for wholesome recrea¬
tion on the family level.
Folders on the reservoir may be had
from the Wilkes Chamber of Com¬
merce in North Wilkesboro or the
Reservoir Manager’s office at the dam.
THE STATE. July 6. 1963
