Stonewall Jackson Lake was authorized and approved by the Flood Control Act of 1966. The purposes of the project, as stated in the authorizing legislation, are flood protection, low flow augmentation for water quality, water supply, fish and wildlife enhancement, hydropower and recreation. The project, completed in 1990, is the most recent addition to the Pittsburgh District’s 16 flood control projects.
Stonewall Jackson Dam is located on the West Fork River, three miles south of the county seat at Weston, West Virginia and 73 miles upstream from the river’s mouth. From its source in Lewis and Upshur Counties, the West Fork River flows northward for 98.7 miles to Fairmont, West Virginia. There it joins the Tygart River to form the Monongahela River.
Stonewall Jackson Dam has the capability to store the equivalent run-off of 7.1 inches of precipitation from its 101.8 square mile drainage area. The project’s flood damage reduction benefits were first demonstrated while it was still under construction when it prevented damages estimated in excess of $25 million during the 1985 Election Day Flood. To date, Stonewall Jackson has prevented flood damages estimated to be nearly $236 million.
Development of the project required the acquisition of 20,451 acres of land. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers retains 330 acres of land at the dam site for operation of the dam and support facilities. All remaining federal lands are leased to the state of West Virginia. These consist of roughly 2,000 acres managed by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources as a state park and 18,289 acres of land and water managed for public hunting and fishing.