The History of Lake Shelbyville:
Lake
Shelbyville
is an artificial lake located in Shelby County, Illinois
and Moultrie County,
Illinois created by damming the
Kaskaskia River at
Shelbyville,
Illinois. The lake's normal surface pool is
11,100 acres (44.9 kmē) at an elevation of 183 metres
(600.4 ft). The area that surrounds the lake is the
Shelbyville State Fish and Wildlife Area. The lake is
managed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and
the wildlife are is managed by the Illinois Department
of Natural Resources.
$57 million was appropriated for
the dam and lake project. Ground breaking on the dam
occurred May 4,
1963. Filling of the reservoir began August 1, 1970. The lake was officially dedicated September 12, 1970. The dam is
3,025 feet (922.0 m) long and 108 feet (32.9 m) tall
with normal pool height 17 feet (5.2 m) below the top.
Bordering the lake are two state
parks: Wolf
Creek State Park
and Eagle
Creek
State Park.
Lake
Shelbyville's coastline is heavily
wooded and sandy, so there are some public beaches on
the lake. Aside from the main channel of the lake are
many coves, perfect for fishing. The lake is deeper than
other major lakes in Illinois,
so it is popular with boaters during the summer. There
are full-service marinas, resorts, and campgrounds on
the lake.
