De Cordova Bend Dam
Encyclopedia
The De Cordova Bend Dam is a man-made dam
on the Brazos River
in Hood County, Texas, United States, controlled by the Brazos River Authority
. De Cordova Bend Dam forms the 8300 acres (34 km²) Lake Granbury
. The dam is so named because of the clockwise almost-complete loop in the Brazos River named De Cordova Bend after Jacob De Cordova
.
The dam is one of only three damming the Brazos River.
The dam is located at 32.37393°N 97.68753°W (32.37393, -97.68753).
The dam is southeast of Granbury, Texas
and road access is available by Rainey Ct which crosses the dam.
The proposed construction of the De Cordova Bend Dam in the mid-1950s became the impetus for John Graves' book, Goodbye to a River
.
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
on the Brazos River
Brazos River
The Brazos River, called the Rio de los Brazos de Dios by early Spanish explorers , is the longest river in Texas and the 11th longest river in the United States at from its source at the head of Blackwater Draw, Curry County, New Mexico to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico with a drainage...
in Hood County, Texas, United States, controlled by the Brazos River Authority
Brazos River Authority
The Brazos River Authority or BRA was created in 1929 by the Texas Legislature as a quasi-governmental entity to manage the Brazos River as a water resource in Texas. It was originally named the Brazos River Conservation and Reclamation District and renamed to the current name in 1953...
. De Cordova Bend Dam forms the 8300 acres (34 km²) Lake Granbury
Lake Granbury
Lake Granbury is a North Texas reservoir near Granbury, Texas. It was created in 1969 and is one of three lakes damming the Brazos River.Lake Granbury is contained by the De Cordova Bend Dam and is a long, narrow lake, encompassing by 103 miles of shoreline.The lake is controlled by the Brazos...
. The dam is so named because of the clockwise almost-complete loop in the Brazos River named De Cordova Bend after Jacob De Cordova
Jacob De Cordova
Jacob De Cordova, , was the founder of the Jamaica Gleaner. He settled in Texas in 1839 and lived in Galveston. After living in Galveston, De Cordova moved to Houston, Texas where he was elected a Texas House of Representatives to the second Texas Legislature in the year 1847. DE CORDOVA, JACOB...
.
The dam is one of only three damming the Brazos River.
Location and Access
The dam is southeast of Granbury, Texas
Granbury, Texas
Granbury is a city in Hood County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 5,718. It is the county seat of Hood County and the principal city of the Micropolitan Statistical Area....
and road access is available by Rainey Ct which crosses the dam.
History
The lake was first proposed in the late 1950s. Construction was begun on the Cordova Bend Dam on December 15, 1966 by the H. B. Zachry Company. Impoundment of water began on September 15, 1969.The proposed construction of the De Cordova Bend Dam in the mid-1950s became the impetus for John Graves' book, Goodbye to a River
Goodbye to a River
Goodbye to a River is a book by John Graves, published in 1960. It is a "semi-historical" account of a canoe trip made by the author during the fall of 1957 down a stretch of the Brazos River in North Central Texas, between Possum Kingdom Dam and Lake Whitney...
.