Lake Ouachita, located in the Ouachita National Forest is the largest man-made lake in the State of Arkansas, according the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. The 40,000-acre lake is popular for water sports such as swimming, skiing, scuba diving and boating. Fishermen are also attracted to Lake Ouachita due to its large stock of crappie, catfish, stripers and large-mouth bass.
According to the ADPT, the Indians were the first to inhabit the valley where Lake Ouachita is now located. They called the river there Washita an Indian word meaning, river of good hunting grounds and sparkling silver water."
In about 1870, the United States Government began conducting surveys to determine what could be done to stop flooding in the Ouachita Valley. A series of dams on the Ouachita River were recommended in the 1890s.
Starting in the 1930s, government appraisers began buying land for building a dam for power production. They paid an average of $30 per acre, but a lack of funds prevented the project from moving forward.
Lake Catherine was created when Remmell Dam was built on the Ouachita River by Arkansas Power and Light in 1924 and Lake Hamilton was formed when Carpenter dam was built in 1932. By the late 1930s, AP&L was issued a permit to build a third dam.
Progress was slow due to the depression, but a flood bill was finally appropriated in 1944 and the Army Corp of Engineers began work in 1946. Actual construction of the Blakely Mountain Dam began in 1948 and was completed in 1952 creating Lake Ouachita.
