Buckeye Lake is a

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

in Fairfield,

Licking Licking is the action (philosophy), action of passing the tongue over a surface, typically either to deposit saliva onto the surface, or to collect liquid, food or minerals onto the tongue for ingestion, or to animal communication, communicate w ...

, and

Perry Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England (particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire), parts of South Wales, France (especially Normandy and Anjou), Canada, Austral ...

counties in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. The lake was created in the 19th century as the "Licking Summit Reservoir", an important part of the

Ohio and Erie Canal The Ohio and Erie Canal was a canal constructed during the 1820s and early 1830s in Ohio. It connected Akron, Ohio, Akron with the Cuyahoga River near its outlet on Lake Erie in Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland, and a few years later, with the Ohio ...

project. With the demise of the canal system in the early 20th century, usage of the lake shifted to recreation.

History

As early as the 1750s, the area that would become Buckeye Lake was described as a great swamp known as "Buffalo Lick". The main Indian trails between the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

and the

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

towns passed by this swamp. Construction of a dike to block the South Fork of the Licking River occurred between 1826 and 1830, to provide a source of water for the Ohio and Erie Canal. In 1894, the Ohio State Legislature changed the reservoir's name to "Buckeye Lake". An

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

and other recreation-oriented business developed, thrived and eventually declined as the 20th century proceeded. In 1949 Buckeye Lake was named a

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

. Much of the area around the lake came to be used for vacation or permanent residences. In March 2015, the Huntington District of the Army Corps of Engineers were paid $140,000 to release a structural inspection review, which identified numerous weaknesses in the lake's dam and warned that the lake was in imminent danger of a

dam failure A dam failure or dam burst is a catastrophic type of structural failure characterized by the sudden, rapid, and uncontrolled release of impounded water or the likelihood of such an uncontrolled release. Between the years 2000 and 2009 more than ...

. Corps officials proposed a range of possible solutions, including doing nothing, completely replacing the dam or entirely draining the lake. As a result of the recommendation, Gov.

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician and author who was the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and a Republican candidate for the pre ...

approved $150 million in funding to secure the dam. The dam was restored within three years and under budget at $107 million; a ribbon cutting ceremony was held on November 8, 2018.

References

External links

Ohio DNR fishing map of Buckeye LakeArmy Corps of Engineers inspection reportOhio History Central: Buckeye LakeOhio DNR History of Ohio's CanalsFairfield County Visitors & Convention Bureau
{{authority control Bodies of water of Fairfield County, Ohio Bodies of water of Licking County, Ohio Bodies of water of Perry County, Ohio Reservoirs in Ohio