Lake Overholser Dam

Lake Overholser Dam. . At the beginning of the 20th Century, the North Canadian River and water wells provided raw drinking water for Oklahoma City. By 1910, the city's population had reached 32,000, and civic leaders began searching for a new source of water. A survey conducted in 1913 by the United States Reclamation Service determined that the city's future water supply would come from the North Canadian River and the creation of a dam and reservoir. , Under the leadership of Mayor Edward Overholser in 1916, Oklahoma City citizens voted $1.5 million in bonds to construct the new water system. Plans drawn for a dam on the North Canadian River, about eight miles west of the city. , Construction began in 1917 on the hollow concrete Ambursen-type dam. At that time, concrete was expensive and labor was cheap. The project required a great deal of manual labor to form the dam and place concrete. Transporting materials was an amazing feat that was achieved with steam shovels, mules, a cable-crane system and a newly constructed railroad to the site. The dam was completed in 1938, at which time a commemorative inscription was dedicated to World War I veterans. It is no longer visible to the public. , A year later, Mayor Overholser resigned from office due to ill health. City commissioners named the reservoir and dam in his honor. Since 1918, Lake Overholser and Lake Overholser Dam have provided citizens with a dependable supply of water. , Overholer Dam was constructed to its present design in 1924, when the western earthen portion of the dam was beached during a flood. The spillway and main dam sections were modified in 1960. At 84 years of age in 2002, Overholser Dam underwent rehabilitation that replaced eroded concrete with spray-on gunite concrete. In 2004, a second project stabilized the dam's spillway by adding concrete to its original hollow structure. , The Overholser Dam was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 5, 2007.