Tom Jenkins Dam (Burr Oak Lake) is a multi-purpose flood damage reduction project built by the Corps of Engineers under the authority of the Flood Control Act of 1944.
The Tom Jenkins Dam office is open from 7:30 am until 4:00 pm.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers owns 100 acres of land surrounding Tom Jenkins Dam including a portion of Burr Oak Lake in front of the Dam. The Corps also purchased the rights to flood around the land around Burr Oak Lake up to an elevation of 750 feet. .
Historical Info
The early settlement on Sunday Creek, just below the forks of the stream became the village of Glouster. Most of the first projects in the Hocking River-Sunday Creek Basin were for security, survival, protection, and then water development such as wells, gristmills, wharfs, boat building and salt mining. The need for flood control and water management along all the Ohio-Hocking system was soon realized as communities grew.
While the spring floods were damaging, the record summer droughts of 1930, 1931, and 1936 were so severe that Glouster, Ohio, was spending about $10,000 dollars each summer to haul drinking water. This, and the very damaging floods led to the formation of the Sunday Creek Watershed Association and the Burr Oak Dam Association. The best plan for the basin was a combined effort by the Federal, State, and Local interests in a multi-purpose water conservation project for Sunday Creek. The dam and related structures were named the “Tom Jenkins Dam,” in honor of the late congressman who represented the Ohio 10th district. The original name of Burr Oak is still used for the lake and the state park.
Contact
740-767-3527
23560 Tom Jenkins Dam Road
Glouster, OH 45732-9727