The lake's serpentine shape has earned it the nickname "The Magic Dragon," which has in turn inspired the names of local institutions such as The Magic Dragon Street Meet. Street put together the initial funding and began building roads, railroads and infrastructure necessary to begin construction of the dam, with a plan to impound a much smaller lake.
The principal engineering firm was Stone and Webster. Construction began August 6, , and was completed in April The massive body of water backed up behind Bagnell Dam is the largest man-made lake in the Midwest.
During construction the lake was referred to as Osage Reservoir or Lake Osage. Thomas Hart Benton. None of the names took as it was popularly referred to by its location in the Ozarks.
The electric generating station, however, is still referred to by the utility company as the "Osage Hydroelectric Plant. At the time of construction it was one of the largest man-made lakes in the world and the largest in the United States.
Though built to provide hydroelectric power for customers of Union Electric, the lake quickly became a significant tourist destination for the Midwest. There are more than 70, homes existing along the lake, many of which are vacation homes. Spectacular scenery characteristic of the Ozarks has also helped to transform the lake into a major resort area. Visitors came from all around the region to watch the reservoir fill up. The new lake created 1, miles of shore line. Unlike a typical Army Corps of Engineers flood-control lake project, this lake was a private project, so the shoreline around the lake was open for development.
In the early days, visitors were mostly recreational fisherman and boaters. People purchased small lakside cabins or visited for holidays. Peek, an Ozark local and self-described hillbilly, says you can feel the effects of this new urbanization all around the lake.
The east side is: 'Hurry up go go go, get out of the water, go waterski, hurry up, we gotta go eat' type of thing. There is a definite different style in serving those types of styles. The newcomers and the true locals. But Peek and Van Lunduyt say true locals and newcomers alike are at risk for losing the history of their region in the depths of the lake and the development surrounding it. Peek says even he didn't know the full story behind the Lake of the Ozarks when he was growing up.
As he got older, it was that realization of how fragile stories can be if they're not told that inspired him to make sure this one was not forgotten. You can hear the conversation here. Email her at suzanne kcur. Search Query Show Search. Special Series. Show Search Search Query. Play Live Radio.
Next Up:. Available On Air Stations. All Streams. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email. Suzanne Hogan. Every part of the present has been shaped by actions that took place in the past, but too often that context is left out. As a community storyteller taking a new look at local history, I aim to provide that context, clarity, empathy and deeper, nuanced perspectives on how the events and people in the past have shaped our community today.
I want to entertain, inform, make you think, expose something new and cultivate a deeper shared human connection about how the passage of time affects us all. Reach me at hogansm kcur. See stories by Suzanne Hogan. Hey, thanks for reading. Your donation today keeps local journalism strong.
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