The work of clearing the site for the project was started in April 1927. The Saluda Hydroelectric Project was constructed between 1927 and 1930 by the Lexington Water Power Company, which merged in 1943 with South Carolina Electric and Gas Company (SCE&G). In July 1930, the reservoir reached an elevation of 298.5 feet.
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| Popular Mechanics Magazine - May 1931 (click for larger image size) |
At 7:00 a.m. on December 1, 1930, the first electric power - 10,000 kilowatts - was delivered to Duke Power Company. Today, SCANA Corporation (parent company for SCE&G) owns Lake Murray and is responsible for the lake. Lake Murray was named for William S. Murray and The Dreher Shoals Dam is named for the Dreher family that owned land in the immediate area where this dam is built. So, the reason the lake was built, hydro electric production, was achieved on December 1st with the first hydroelectric output, the official beginning of Lake Murray's awesomeness!
When construction was finished on Lake Murray and the Dreher Shoals Dam, Lake Murray was the largest man-made lake in the world for power production purposes and Dreher Shoals Dam was the largest earthern dam in the world.
This year, Lake Murray was named one of the Top Ten Best Lakes in America for living and boating! Want to live on or near Lake Murray? Contact Mel Coker (a Lake Murray resident):
(803) 388-8011
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| The Dreher Shoals Dam is approximately 1.5 miles long and 213 feet high. |
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