How Kerr Lake came to be
John H. Kerr Reservoir was born from a flood. After devastating floods swept the Roanoke River valley in August 1940 — among the worst in Virginia's recorded history — Congress authorized the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dam the river. Construction began in March 1947 with 2,100 men working around the clock. The dam was completed in 1952 at a cost of over $82 million, standing 144 feet high with a crest length of 2,785 feet and containing 624,000 cubic yards of concrete.
The reservoir was originally called the Buggs Island Project, named after a small island belonging to descendants of Samuel Bugg. In 1951, Congress renamed it after John H. Kerr, the North Carolina Congressman who spent decades lobbying for its construction. Today the dam generates over 426,000 megawatt hours of electricity annually and has prevented an estimated $400 million in flood damage since completion.
