Buckeye Lake Dam

Buckeye Lake, originally named Summit Reservoir, was formed by a four mile long embankment built between 1825-1832. The dam, built by hand, utilized questionable materials from the site, a post-glacial swamp, and failed in 1833. In 1884, the reservoir was abandoned as a feeder canal and the site became a public park. A spillway was added around 1910, and the state began to sell lots on the downstream slope of the dam. It is now the only earthen dam of considerable length to have private residences (350) built on, over, and into its structure. In 1978, the Corps of Engineers declared the dam structurally unsafe with an inadequate spillway. By 1992, the discharge capacity of the spillway had been increased , the original spillway demolished and equipped with an AMIL gate. Future rehabilitation measures include raising the dam by several feet.
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