Today, this reservoir is used for flood control and the enjoyment of everyone who visits it. Swimming, canoeing, camping, you name it. People love to visit here for some outdoor recreation. But what many people don’t know is that there is a hidden town buried deep underneath the lake. Even with how clear the water is here, you normally can’t see it unless the water is low enough – and even then, not much of it remains.
The reservoir is Pactola Lake, created from the Pactola Dam, and the town – of course – was known as Pactola. The name came from a river in Turkey where an ancient Greek mining operation was once held centuries ago. When the town had just begun it was a mining establishment known as Camp Crook. The town had been around since 1875 but in the 1950s, it would vanish.
USBR/Wikimedia This is the Pactola Dam, constructed from 1952-1956 as part of the Flood Control Act of 1944. The reservoir created actually supplies much of the water for Rapid City, and of course is used for controlling flooding conditions.
Austin Matherne/Flickr Hiding underneath the water is what remains of the town. Most of the town was auctioned off before the completion of the dam. Many of the buildings were moved or demolished, and what would be the future lake bed was clear cut of all trees. There were still buildings there, however, that are submerged still today, like a dynamite bunker for the mining operation. A cabin that was part of the town also remains above water downstream today.
Marty Gabel/Flickr While Pactola Lake is beautiful today, it is interesting to know that there once was an entire town with stores, houses, and a mine…and that all of it would be many feet below the surface of the water less than a century after it was founded.
This isn’t the only place that parts of nature have overtaken in South Dakota. Take a look at these other places in the state that are being slowly reclaimed by the earth itself.
USBR/Wikimedia
This is the Pactola Dam, constructed from 1952-1956 as part of the Flood Control Act of 1944. The reservoir created actually supplies much of the water for Rapid City, and of course is used for controlling flooding conditions.
Austin Matherne/Flickr
Hiding underneath the water is what remains of the town. Most of the town was auctioned off before the completion of the dam. Many of the buildings were moved or demolished, and what would be the future lake bed was clear cut of all trees. There were still buildings there, however, that are submerged still today, like a dynamite bunker for the mining operation. A cabin that was part of the town also remains above water downstream today.
Marty Gabel/Flickr
While Pactola Lake is beautiful today, it is interesting to know that there once was an entire town with stores, houses, and a mine…and that all of it would be many feet below the surface of the water less than a century after it was founded.
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