Story by Carol Pappas
Photos by David Smith
Submitted photos
At 97 feet high, Logan Martin Dam towers over the lake it created 60 years ago.
It casts quite an impressive shadow on the water below, but its impact on the region casts a much wider net – on its economy, recreation, residential, business, tourism and of course, electricity.
It was commissioned in 1964 as the second dam constructed during Alabama Power Company’s program in the 1950s and 1960s to further develop the Coosa River as a source of hydroelectric power. In 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower signed into law the authorization to build the dam as part of the Coosa River Project.
The Coosa River Project included Weiss, Neely Henry and Bouldin dams and the redevelopment of Lay Dam. At the time Logan Martin was being built and opened, Neely Henry Dam wasn’t named yet. It was just referred to as Lock 3.
During the planning stages, Logan Martin Dam was called Kelly Creek, named for the nearby creek that flows into the Coosa River. Later, it would bear the name of Logan Martin Jr., a circuit court judge in Montgomery and former Alabama Attorney General. In 1921, Alabama Power named him general attorney for the company his brother, Thomas Martin, co-founded.
When the floodgates closed, it would create Logan Martin Lake in 1965. By the numbers, the lake is 17,000 acres with 275 miles of shoreline along its length of 48.5 miles. Its deepest point is 69 feet. Its elevation above sea level is 465 feet, and its area of watershed draining into the reservoir is 7,700 square miles.
The concrete section connecting St. Clair with Talladega counties and forming the dam on Logan Martin Dam Road stretches the length of more than two football fields at 612 feet. Three turbines power generators, producing more than 400 million kilowatt hours annually.
The story unfolds
Old newspaper clippings tell about the evolution of the dam transforming this part of the Coosa River from a long, skinny river system to a much more expansive lake.
Guy H. James Construction Co. of Oklahoma City, OK, won the contract, according to the December issue of Shelby County Reporter, for the “concrete powerhouse substructure, concrete spillway and approximately 1.5 miles of earthen kikes. The cost cited was $28 million, exclusive of the land. Peak employment on the dam project was projected at 450.
The January 5, 1961, St. Clair News-Aegis reported that the construction would begin the following week on “gigantic Logan Martin Dam.”
The story predicted “A vast recreational area will be opened up with Pell City as the center when work on Logan Martin Dam is done. It will be a fisherman’s paradise with boating, skiing, camping and other outdoor type recreation expected to draw hundreds every week …”
When they ‘backed up’ the water
Of course there were challenges along the way. The News-Aegis story went on to tell about the fate of the town of Easonville. “Highway 231 will be routed around Easonville, which will be under water after competition of the dam. The bodies in two or three cemeteries in the Easonville community will be moved to other burial places.”
It certainly didn’t happen overnight. It took four years to build. “After completion of the dam, from one to three weeks would be required to fill the lake,” that same story reported. Locals called it “backing up the water.”
By April 4, 1965, The Anniston Star was reporting about the rising of the water. “Don’t look now, but Logan Martin’s filling,” wrote John McCaa Jr. “Yes, within a month, “Old Coosie” will have swelled back of Logan Martin Dam, lost her sluggish, muddy look and fingered out into cleared land to form a full lake for the first time since the gates closed last August.”
He went on to set the scene. “Newly built piers and boat launching platforms which have appeared so strange sitting high and dry for the past several months will soon be doing their job in easing thousands of area waterbugs into Alabama’s newest water recreation area.”
McCaa said most would see the reservoir as a “fishing and watersports wonderland. But behind the four years of construction and seven months of waiting for the filling process up to summer pool level, is a threefold purpose and a $46.1 million investment.”
In the April 14, 1963, edition of Talladega Daily Home (now, The Daily Home), “Expenditure for Logan Martin Dam on the Coosa River near here, now under construction and scheduled for completion in 1964, is the largest addition contemplated by the Alabama Power Company this year.”
The report was based on the testimony of R.L. Harris, company vice president in charge of electric operations, before the state Public Service Commission. Some may think the name familiar. It is. R.L. Harris Dam on Lake Wedowee was named for him. In this bit of history, though, he was testifying in a hearing on the company’s petition to issue $16 million in first mortgage bonds and $5 million in preferred stock.
Build it, and they’ll head this way.
By 1964, a “big real estate boom” was underway, according to the Birmingham Post Herald. It ran a photo of one of the new developments on the lake. “It is known as Treasure Island and contains both residential and marine developments,” the caption said.
One new resident at the time commented for the paper. “I’m just 40 minutes from Birmingham via the expressway and that isn’t bad at all when you consider what I have at the lake.”
Prices, the story noted, range from $500 for the least desirable plots of ground to more than $5000 per lot for the choice sites.” Average lot price today – $150,000 to $250,000, say lake Realtors.
“Commercial enterprises such as the Pine Hill (Harbor?) marina and Treasure Island marina are rapidly going up on Logan Martin shores to meet the demand of boating and fishing crowds,” the story said. “New roads are rapidly appearing all around the lake as new homes go up and service enterprises are built to serve the residents.”
A story in the Birmingham News Jan. 5, 1964, displayed photos of the newly constructed dam and the “new” Stemley Bridge, connecting Pell City and Talladega.
“Flood gates of the Logan Martin Dam will be closed this week – and a beautiful 20,000—acre lake will begin to fill up,” wrote Jack Hopper. “This waterway of the Coosa, when completed, also will provide a mecca to industrial prospects and will be one of the most beautiful recreational spots in the Southeast.”
Underscoring the early growth, Hopper noted, “This area is already showing indications of the favor it will meet with thousands of persons as recreational site. Many cabins already have been completed and owners are awaiting next May, when the lake reservoir will be full.”
Pell City Mayor Sam Burt predicted the potential impact, citing 600 waterfront lots purchased at the time, and homes and cabins already going up. “I think we will have the most beautiful lake frontage on the Coosa River,” he said. “And our closeness to the metropolitan area of Birmingham will be a big help.”
Prominent businessman and president of the Chamber, J.D. Abbott said the water was attracting a number of industrial prospects. “We are going to purchase an industrial park and will have everything ready for industrial prospects. Pell City is now doubling its water supply and will be ready when the dam is completed.”
The story goes on to talk about construction in “the near future” on a $500,000 marina on the lakefront, named Pine Harbor Marina. The property would eventually house a restaurant and motel as well as an 18-hole golf course.
The Dam Road
Even the Dam Road captured headlines. “Talladegans will soon have a more direct route to St. Clair County across Logan Martin Dam,” The Anniston Star reported Sept. 16, 1965. “A new half-mile section of road, plus a section of the dyke road, is being constructed by county crews under a negotiated contract with the state for $100,000, including engineering and inspection services. According to District 3 Commissioner John Giles at the time, the new road would provide easier access to the lake and a shortcut to Birmingham for residents in the Renfroe area.
Dam Dedication
Gov. Lurleen Wallace was unable to attend the formal dedication of the sam because she had been hospitalized, and Lt. Gov. Albert Brewer spoke at the ceremony held on a rainy Saturday, June 24, 1967.
He called the dam and reservoir project a “vote of confidence in the future of Alabama,” according to an Anniston Star article that covered the event. “ …A few years from now, water may well be our most valuable commodity.”
Today’s Reflections
As officials reflect on the face of today’s region with the benefit of those six decades, it is easy to see that being in the right place at the right time makes all the difference.
“To say the creation of Logan Martin Lake was a transformational event for Pell City would be an understatement,” said Pell City Manager Brian Muenger. “It provides an irreplaceable benefit to our residents, as well as the hundreds of thousands of guests that flow into the City each summer.”
The numbers bear him out. St. Clair County tax data shows more than 3,800 lots within 100 feet of the lake, the assessed value of which is more than $800 million. That figure is for the county as a whole, but nearly half of that value is within the city limits of Pell City.
Only 1,800 of the 3,800 lots claim a homeowners exemption, which indicates that around 53% of owners are part-time or seasonal residents.
Over the past three years, the lake has averaged more than 1.5 million visits each year. Monthly visits during peak season, May to July, are more than 2.5 times higher than off-peak months, November to February.
St. Clair County Economic Development Executive Director Don Smith agreed with Muenger’s conclusion that the lake’s creation was transformational for the region.
“Pell City and Riverside have had three very impactful events in 60 years – the construction of I-20 in the 1960s, the creation of Logan Martin Lake in 1964-65, and the opening of the Honda plant in 2001,” Smith said.
“All three have brought increased wealth into our communities with the lake generating an incredible amount of property tax from the new lake homes and sales tax from tourism,” he said. “More and more communities are investing in ‘placemaking’ projects to make themselves a more desirable location to visit and live, but our communities already have it because of Lake Logan Martin.”
