Summersville Dam

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Summersville Dam

Summersville Dam is a rock-fill dam located near Summersville, West Virginia, United States. The dam impounds the Gauley River, forming Summersville Lake. It is the second largest rock filled dam east of the Mississippi River.

Summersville Dam was built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in order to improve flood control along the lower Gauley and the Kanawha River. Completed in 1966, it required 12 million cubic yards of earthen debris in order to finish the 390 ft x 2280 ft structure. The United States Army Corps of Engineers broke a long-standing tradition in the naming of this project. Usually, dams are named after the nearest town with a post office. In this case the nearest town is named Gad. Instead of calling it Gad Dam, they chose to name it after the second nearest town.

The dam is within the Gauley River National Recreation Area.

In 2001, a two-year project was completed to convert the dam to hydroelectric power generation. The power plant has a capacity to generate 80 MW of electricity. The thunderous plumes of water shown in the photo above have been replaced by the quiet hum of generators.