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310:"The Mother Road" was situated along the North shore of Lake Overholser from 1926 to 1958. A 1958 Route 66 improvement project created a new alignment for the highway that relocated the roadbed about 1/4 mile North of the lake. The original 1926 section of Route 66 still exists and was renamed North Overholser Drive. This includes the picturesque Lake Overholser Bridge. The alignment runs south of the Stonebridge Lake Estates and Ramsey Lake and is considered one of the most scenic sections of the original Route 66.
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Later, the paper reported that it was not the dam that had failed, but the embankment (levee) at the west end of the dam that had given way after being battered by flood waters that had built up behind the dam. Within thirty minutes, the initial rush of water had raised the downstream river level by
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The Lake
Overholser Dam, designed by Niels Ambursen and built by the Ambursen Construction Company of New York, is 68 feet (21 m) high and 1,258 feet (383 m)long. Oklahoma City residents voted a $ 1.5 million bond issue in 1916 to pay for the project. The dam is built of reinforced poured
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On
October 16, 1923, operators at the central telephone exchange of Oklahoma City began calling to notify subscribers living south of Grand Avenue (now Sheridan Avenue) of an impending flood caused by levee breakage at the recently built City Reservoir (now known as Lake Overholser). The daily
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The lake was originally intended to assure an adequate supply of municipal water, since the city depended primarily on the North
Canadian River as a source, supplemented by private wells. The need for flood control capability became obvious when the river flooded in 1923. It breached the Lake
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A concrete wing wall anchors the dam into the eastern riverbank. The first span of the dam, between the eastern wing wall and the pump house, is wide. The brick-walled pump house has a gabled tile roof, a small chimney, and two round ventilators. It sits above four arched sluiceway openings.
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The lake covers approximately 1,500 acres (6 km) and was constructed in 1919 to provide water to a treatment plant. According to USGS, its capacity is 17,100 acre-feet (21,100,000 m) The average depth is 6 feet (1.8 m) and the maximum depth is only 13 feet (4.0 m).
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newspaper, The
Oklahoman, reported that 300 national guardsmen and American Legion volunteers had been sent to organize evacuation of a 117-block area of the city that was expected to be severely impacted by the 25-foot wall of water already heading in that direction.
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Lake
Overholser is a popular fishing area for local residents. A covered fishing pier is on the southwest side of the lake. Species of fish include white bass, bream, bluegill, striped bass, flathead catfish, crappie, carp, catfish and largemouth bass.
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7 feet (2.1 m). The river held at that level for two hours, but by then the level at the east end of the dam failed, sending the downstream river level 2 feet (0.61 m) higher in a matter of minutes.
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Boating is allowed on the lake, but swimming is prohibited. Young students have nicknamed the lake "Lake
Holdhercloser" due to the lake being a popular make out spot among teens.
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and a solid spillway. A concrete walkway extends across the dam over the buttresses until it comes to the larger spillway, where it is carried by a
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Completed in 1919, the lake straddles the line separating
Oklahoma and Canadian counties, and is the oldest reservoir in the Oklahoma City area.
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A portion of the North
Canadian River that flows through Oklahoma City was renamed the Oklahoma River in 2004.
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Phillips, Mary. "The
Archivist: Dam break in 1923 caused flood of problems near Oklahoma City reservoir.
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605:"USGS 07240500 Lake Overholser near Oklahoma City, OK." U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). August 29.
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593:""Overview of Water and Related Resources Part 2." Oklahoma Water Resources Board.
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634:"National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Lake Overholser Dam."
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Oklahoma
Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory
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Lake Overholser bridge in Bethany, Oklahoma, 2017 courtesy Gorup de Besanez
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260:. Lake Overholser is formed by Overholser Dam on the
540:"Lake Overholser East Trail - Oklahoma." TrailLink.
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574:"Adam Knapp. "Oklahoma City's Lake Overholser".
288:Overholser Dam and inundated much of the city.
268:. The lake is 2.9 miles (4.7 km) west of
617:"Lake Overholser Dam." City of Oklahoma City.
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715:Bodies of water of Canadian County, Oklahoma
695:Protected areas of Canadian County, Oklahoma
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670:City website, source of this information
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280:who was the 16th Mayor of the City of
412:North Canadian River (Oklahoma River)
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272:and 4.4 mi (7.1 km) from
202:17,100 acre⋅ft (21.1 hm)
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276:. Lake Overholser is named after
675:Hefner to Overholser Bike Trails
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607:2015. Accessed August 29, 2015.
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318:Dam in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
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92:Show map of the United States
656:Accessed November 20, 2019.
542:Accessed December 27, 2018.
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720:Infrastructure in Oklahoma
700:Geography of Oklahoma City
555:"Lake Overholser Fishing."
252:within the city limits of
237:not a well-defined measure
218:1,242 ft (379 m)
619:Accessed August 30, 2015.
595:Accessed August 30, 2015.
583:Accessed August 29, 2015.
557:Accessed August 29, 2015.
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266:Oklahoma County, Oklahoma
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178:1,500 acres (610 ha)
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404:Poured concrete buttress
478:Recreational facilities
370:Construction began
349:Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
194:13 ft (4.0 m)
705:Reservoirs in Oklahoma
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357:City water, recreation
230:Oklahoma City, Bethany
210:7 mi (11 km)
186:6 ft (1.8 m)
30:Overholser Dam in 2013
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400:Type of dam
389:City of Oklahoma City
262:North Canadian River
62:Show map of Oklahoma
654:. October 12, 2015.
444:Pratt through truss
324:Lake Overholser Dam
144:35.4977°N 97.6796°W
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579:2015-09-06 at the
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472:Spencer, Oklahoma
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394:Dam and spillways
378:Opening date
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215:Surface elevation
149:35.4977; -97.6796
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207:Shore length
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292:Description
227:Settlements
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122:Coordinates
689:Categories
527:References
454:1923 flood
435:concrete.
191:Max. depth
135:97°40′47″W
132:35°29′52″N
440:spillways
428:1650 feet
250:reservoir
577:Archived
409:Impounds
386:Owner(s)
365:Complete
346:Location
258:Oklahoma
110:Oklahoma
102:Location
420:68 feet
354:Purpose
338:Country
270:Bethany
425:Length
417:Height
362:Status
498:Notes
274:Yukon
248:is a
161:Basin
470:and
381:1918
373:1917
297:Lake
314:Dam
264:in
691::
640:^
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