The Creation of Lake Keowee

• Creation of Lake Keowee

• Creation of Lake Keowee

The mountains and foothills of western South Carolina were changed forever by the massive Keowee-Toxaway Project. The multimillion dollar project includes the Oconee Nuclear Station and Lake Keowee and Jocassee and their associated hydroelectric stations. To create everything that was needed to make the K-T project work, Duke Power Company literally moved mountains. Serious planning on the project began in 1962. Ironically, the location was a second choice. Duke had planned to build a steam plant on the Savannah River but ran into federal roadblocks. Bill Lee, then the Duke chairman, chose the Keowee-Toxaway site.

In 1963, the South Carolina Land and Timber Company was formed to acquire land for what would become Keowee-Toxaway. An 83,400 acre tract in the Horsepasture area was purchased that year from the Singer Corporation and private landowners. South Carolina Land and Timber became Crescent Land and Timber, a Duke subsidiary, in 1969.

The K-T project burst into the spotlight Jan. 2,1965, when Duke president William B. McGuire announced plans for hydroelectric and steam generating facilities and the associated lakes during a luncheon at the Clemson House in Clemson, South Carolina. The cost was expected to be about $700 million. Two days later, Duke filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a license to begin the first phase.

After license approval, Duke began the massive task of preparing the area for dam construction and the formation of the two large lakes. There were extensive road and bridge relocations; buildings, churches and cemeteries were moved. Hundreds of families were relocated, and some of the Southeast's most dynamic river miles were abandoned.

Duke began the construction of the project's nuclear plant in 1967. The Keowee-Toxaway Visitors Center-now the World of Energy-opened July 1, 1969. The first of the three units of the Oconee nuclear plant began operation in 1973, with the other two going on line in 1974. The Oconee Nuclear Station uses Lake Keowee as a cooling element. The lake also is a power source for the Keowee Hydroelectric Station.