Lake Meredith History and How it was Formed

It‘s a spot I remember growing up in during the Spring and Summer months from the fun we had on the boat to swimming and taking a nice cool off from the intense warmth of the sun.

On March 11, 1962 Sanford Dam construction began with workers from the U.S Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S Government digging through to make all of the necessary piercings and holes so that water from both the Canadian River and Ogallala Aquifer can run through and fill up the lake to it’s capacity of 120 feet although I have never seen it that high in my lifetime. The highest level I can remember is 103 feet back in the year 2003, On January 28,1965 the impoundment process for the water route would begin and by August 21,1965 Meredith was open to the public for use. You can see a picture below of the Sanford Dam under construction, it took quite a while as the lake is the biggest in the Texas Panhandle covering areas of the two counties

Moore and Hutchinson. Two launching ramps Fritch Fortress and Sanford Yake where the Dam runs is Hutchinson while Harbor Bay sits in Moore, it’s crazy to think about that while cruising around because at least a dozen times you hit both county lines. There is even a Potter County part but that is reserved for Allibates Flint, that might be a future history blog I write about, keep watching my feed.

We can trace this back to the 1920s when Austin A. Meredith saw a great need for a main water supply, he had several different meetings with his workers exchanging ideas on how this project could pan out, in the 1930s the area suffered huge flooding and washed out soil. The original starting of the blueprint of the lake itself was scheduled for 1941 but was moved to 1947 do to World War II, the contract for operation of Sanford Dam was signed in 1952 giving Government officials permission to work on and build the Dam. The lake was formerly known as Sanford Lake up until 1973 when the name was changed to honor and reflect the life of Meredith who passed away in 1963 roughly two years before the project began.

The lowest record on file was back in 2011 when the lake was at 28 feet, that year was full of dry conditions and it wasn’t until 2014 that we started on a wet pattern again.

I hope and prey this lake stays around for years to come so everyone can have a place to go get away from everyday life and recharge.