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South Holston Dam

City: Bristol, TN
Region: East Tennessee
Subregion: Northeast

Unmatched natural beauty and outdoor recreation. Experience water skiing, fishing, boating, hiking and more.

South Holston Lake was named for the river that bares the name of Steven Holston, an early settler of the Tennessee Valley.

The construction of South Holston Dam was started on February 16, 1942 and was completed November 20, 1950. The total cost of construction of the reservoir was $31,242,224 taking more than 7,842,134 man hours to complete. The dam itself contains 97,500 cubic yards of concrete. South Holston Dam and Reservoir was constructed for the purpose of electric power, flood control, navigation, recreation, an adequate supply of water and other related benefits.

The Dam is 285 feet tall and 1,600 feet long. The reservoir is 10,053 acres with a shoreline of 160 miles and 8 miles of island shoreline.

There was 49 injuries incurred during the construction of the dam and reservoir with 3 fatalities. There was 342 families relocated and 559 graves had to be relocated.

South Holston Lake is on the South Fork Holston River and is surrounded by Sullivan County in Tennessee and Washington County in Virginia.

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