DeGray Lake

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DeGray Dam and Lake on the Caddo River

DeGray Lake is a lake on the Caddo River, 8 miles from Arkadelphia. DeGray Lake offers a huge span of recreational area and spectacular views. Arkansas Scenic Byway 7 is located on the eastern shore of the lake, and provides views of the lake, and also places to stay down the road.

1 Overview
2 History
3 DeGray Resort State Park
4 See also
5 External link

[edit] Overview

DeGray lake and dam were authorized by Congress in the River and Harbor Act of 1950. Congress passed the Water Supply Act of 1958, which provided for the inclusion of municipal and industrial water supply as one of the project purposes. Construction on the dam began in 1962 and was completed in 1972 at a cost of $63,800,000. A 40 MW hydraulic turbine and a 28 MW turbine generate electricity for the Southwestern Power Administration of Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma. DeGray dam impounds the waters of the Caddo River to form a flood control lake that covers 13,400 acres, and a shoreline of 207 miles.

[edit] History

The history of the DeGray area dates back to AD 700 when the area was inhabited by the Caddo Indians. Hernando DeSoto then came and explored this area in 1541, after discovering hot springs. The Caddo Indians' way of life was changed forever when coming in contact with the Spanish explorers; the Indians were introduced to the horse. In the 1700's French fur trappers brought trade to the area with their extensive trapping methods. DeGray Lake was in fact named after a French fur trader, DeGraff, who settled this region. Several artifacts have been found near the dam site, and many have been brought to a local university, Henderson State University.

[edit] DeGray Resort State Park

Situated on the north shore of 13,800-acre DeGray Lake, this recreational retreat in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains offers resort amenities combined with the outdoor adventures of an Arkansas state park. This state park is one of Arkansas' most popular parks, offering fishing and water sports, campgrounds for both tent and RV camping, and an 18-hole golf course. The DeGray Lodge and Convention center is also available for family lodging or business conventions.

DeGray's challenging 18-hole PGA championship-rated public course stretches over 7,100 yards. The course offers opportunities to view the birds and other wildlife that abound here. The front nine offers wide, expansive fairways with elevated, undulating and sloping greens, tee boxes and hidden water hazards. The back nine are carved out of the woodlands leaving little room for stray shots. The course offers a driving range, practice green, chipping area and lessons, from the blue tees the course is 7,100 yards, from the white-6,560 yards, gold-6,200 yards and red-5,800 yards.

The course rating is 69.4 and the slope is 119. Water comes into play on seven holes. The Pro Shop offers a snack bar, cart and club rentals, golf equipment and a wide selection of brand name golf apparel and accessories for purchase.