Appalachian History Series
Introduction
Martins Fork Lake is a small mountain reservoir tucked into the Smith community of Harlan County, Kentucky. Completed in 1979 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the 340-acre lake sits at river mile 15.6 on Martins Fork, just southeast of the town of Harlan. It has one big job that touches everything else in the valley: hold back sudden floods and release cleaner, cooler water when the river needs it.
Why Washington Backed A Dam In Harlan County
In the 1960s, repeated floods on the headwaters of the Cumberland River soaked homes, wrecked city utilities, and scared off industry. Federal attention and dollars followed. Congress authorized the Martins Fork project in the Flood Control Act of 1965, part of a larger effort to steady Appalachian rivers and steady Appalachian towns. The Corps’ environmental statement lays out the purpose plainly: flood control and water quality, with recreation as a bonus where possible.
Planning And Design
Early concepts favored an earth-fill dam, but the site’s geology and the presence of the smaller Cranks Creek Dam upstream raised safety concerns. Designers settled on a concrete gravity structure paired with an embankment section and a multi-level intake so operators could draw water from different depths to improve downstream quality. The spillway is an open, uncontrolled overflow. The mix of features reflects lessons the Corps was applying across the Cumberland system in the 1970s.
Building Martins Fork Lake
Construction ramped up in the mid-1970s with road relocations, utility moves, and the main dam contract. Local memories still remember the valley that was cleared and the families who had to move to higher ground. Those details live on in project files, local histories, and photographs from the Corps’ dedication-day press kit that shows the concrete structure nearing completion in the spring of 1979.
Dedication And Project Features
Martins Fork Lake entered service in 1979. The dam stands about 97 feet high and 504 feet long. The lake normally covers roughly 334 to 340 acres at summer pool and can temporarily store much more during storms. Because the spillway is an open crest and there is no hydropower, everything about the structure is geared to moderating floods and improving water quality.
Flood Protection For A River Town
The lake immediately began shaving the top off flash floods charging down Martins Fork and Cranks Creek, which helped Harlan and its downstream neighbors. City leaders knew one dam could not solve everything since Harlan sits where Martins, Clover, and Poor forks meet. Congress later authorized the separate Section 202 Harlan Flood Control Project, a package of floodwalls, levees, tunnels, and channels completed in 1999. Together the lake and the urban works now provide the level of security people had prayed for during the worst water years.
The Smith Valley Before And After
Older residents remember the Smith bottomlands as prized farm ground with a state road that now lies under the lake’s blue surface. Schoolchildren were bused elsewhere when the elementary closed and a stone church that looked down the valley is gone. Families moved up the hillsides and rebuilt their routines around a new shoreline. Those shifts rarely show up in engineering summaries, yet they are central to the history of this place. The attachment collects those community voices and local documentation so they will not be lost.
Recreation, Trails, And A Quirky Fishery
Even with a flood-control mission, Martins Fork turned into a quiet recreation lake. Motors over 10 horsepower must idle, which keeps the water calm for paddlers. Visitors use a sandy swimming beach, picnic shelters, a campground, and the west-side Cumberland Shadow Trail, a five-mile path with two primitive campsites.
Anglers know Martins Fork for something rare in Kentucky. It is the only reservoir in the Commonwealth where you can catch four black-bass species: largemouth, smallmouth, spotted, and redeye. The redeye population traces to an unusual mid-century introduction that took in the Martins Fork watershed and its impoundment.
What The Lake Means Today
Martins Fork Lake represents the practical side of the War on Poverty era in eastern Kentucky. It delivered fewer headlines than labor battles and mine disasters, yet it changed daily life by reducing flood risk and creating a public space where families swim, fish, and hike. When heavy rains test the structure, the Corps’ own inspections and open-spillway design notes underscore why the dam was built the way it was and why it remains sound today.
Sources & Further Reading
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental statement: Martins Fork Lake, Cumberland River Basin, Kentucky. Project design, purposes, and impacts. usace.contentdm.oclc.org+1
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Great Lakes and Ohio River Division. Martins Fork Dam project page. Location, operations, and history overview. LRD
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Water Control Manual, Martins Fork Dam and Lake. Technical operations and watershed description. Water Data
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville District. “Harlan Flood Control Project dedicated 20 years ago.” Context for Section 202 works and 1999 completion. DVIDSLRD
DVIDS Image Archive. “Corps offering public tours of Martins Fork Dam” press-kit photo and caption with construction and 1979 dedication details. DVIDS
DVIDS News. “USACE inspection confirms Martins Fork Dam stability after historic water levels.” Notes on open spillway and dam safety classification. DVIDS
Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. Martin’s Fork Lake Bass Assessment. Four-species black-bass fishery. fw.ky.gov
Art Lander, NKyTribune. “Martin’s Fork Lake is Kentucky’s only reservoir with four species of black bass.” Fishery profile and watershed notes. NKyTribune
Harlan County Tourism. “The Ultimate Guide to Harlan County.” Visitor amenities and lake overview. Harlan County
Martins Fork Lake and Smith community history, maps, and field notes compiled in the attached research file. History of Martins Fork Lake, H…
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