The Harry S. Truman Dam and Reservoir, also known as Truman Lake, is located in the state of

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is located between

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has also been used as a given nam ...

and

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, on the

Osage River The Osage River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 31, 2011 tributary of the Missouri River in central Missouri in the United States. The eighth-largest river in ...

and extends south to

Osceola Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Vsse Yvholv in Muscogee language, Creek, also spelled Asi-yahola), named Billy Powell at birth, was an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfa ...

. The dam is located in Benton County, but the reservoir also extends into parts of

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

, St. Clair, and

Hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes 19 species accepted by ''Plants of the World Online''. Seven species are native to southeast Asia in China, Indochina, and northeastern India (Assam), and twelve ...

counties.

History

The

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

built and manages the lake and dam. It is used primarily for

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

control. Other uses include

power generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery ( transmission, distribution, etc.) to end users or its stora ...

, recreation, and wildlife management. Originally named Kaysinger Bluff Dam and Reservoir in 1954, when construction was authorized, construction began in August 1964. It was renamed the Harry S. Truman Dam and Reservoir, in honor of the former president from Missouri, by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

in 1970. Construction was completed in 1979. The Kaysinger name refers to the bluff immediately north next to where the dam was eventually constructed. The bluff or cliff, a popular landmark even before the dam, overlooked the confluence of the South Grand River, Tebo Creek and the Osage River. The visitor center now sits on the bluff. Completing the Truman Project took many years of planning,

land acquisition Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land surface ...

, constructing new

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

s and demolishing old ones. Several roads, towns, and cemeteries had to be relocated. The first construction project completed on the project was relocating Route 13 so it would be above maximum pool level. The creation of the lake forced the closure of the Frisco Railroad's "Highline". Rising water levels severed the railroad tracks near

and Deepwater and railroad officials declined to spend millions of dollars to reroute the lightly used tracks. The Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, however, did relocate its main line between La Due and

; the project included five miles of new track and a causeway/bridge combination over the lake.

Harry S Truman Regional Visitor Center

The Harry S. Truman Visitor Center contains exhibits about the cultural and natural history of Truman Lake, environmental activities, the construction of the dam, the operation of the powerhouse, and the

US Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

. A 67-seat theater shows wildlife, history and water safety videos by request. The observation deck offers views of Truman Lake and part of the

Lake of the Ozarks Lake of the Ozarks is a reservoir created by impounding the Osage River in the northern part of the Ozarks in central Missouri. Parts of three smaller tributaries to the Osage are included in the impoundment: the Niangua River, Grandglaize Creek ...

, as well as the dam.

Harry S Truman State Park

Harry S Truman State Park is located in

Benton County, Missouri Benton County is a county located in the west central part of the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 19,394 as of the 2020 Census. Its county seat is Warsaw. The county was organized January 3, 1835, and named for U.S. Senator Thom ...

on a peninsula that juts out into the reservoir.

Weaubleau-Osceola structure

The south-west portion of the lake makes up part of the circumference of the

Weaubleau-Osceola structure The Weaubleau structure is a probable meteorite impact site in western Missouri near the towns of Gerster, Iconium, Osceola, and Vista. It is believed to have been caused by a meteoroid between 335 and 340 million years ago during the middle M ...

, a 330-335 million year old impact crater.Miller, J.F., Evans, K.R., Rovey, C.W., II, Ausich, W.L., Bolyard, S.E., Davis, G.H., Ethington, R.L., Sandberg, C.A., Thompson, T.L., and Waters, J.A., "Mixed-age echinoderms, conodonts, and other fossils used to date a meteorite impact, and implications for missing strata in the type Osagean (Mississippian) in Missouri, USA". Echinoderm Paleobiology, 2008, 53p.

Harry S. Truman Dam

References

External links

*
Harry S. Truman Regional Visitor Center

Harry S. Truman State Park

Page at ShowMeLakes.com
{{authority control Reservoirs in Missouri Dams in Missouri Lakes of the U.S. Interior Highlands Bodies of water of the Ozarks Museums in Benton County, Missouri Natural history museums in Missouri Industry museums in Missouri Protected areas of Henry County, Missouri Protected areas of Hickory County, Missouri Protected areas of St. Clair County, Missouri Buildings and structures in Henry County, Missouri Buildings and structures in Hickory County, Missouri Buildings and structures in St. Clair County, Missouri Protected areas of Benton County, Missouri United States Army Corps of Engineers dams Dams completed in 1979 Bodies of water of Henry County, Missouri Bodies of water of Hickory County, Missouri Bodies of water of St. Clair County, Missouri Bodies of water of Benton County, Missouri 1979 establishments in Missouri