Dams and Lakes
The first plans for a dam on the White River were developed in 1907. The plan was to build Table Rock dam upstream from Branson. However, the first dam, Powersite, was actually built four years later a dozen miles down the river near Forsyth (Van Buskirk 58).
During this time the Ozark Power and Water Company built the overflow dam and hydroelectric plant at Powersite. "Powersite Dam included a 210-foot-long powerhouse on the south, a 546-foot-long spillway, and a 440-foot core wall on the north side of the river. The dam was seventy-five feet high on its face; the depth of the water it impounded at the dam was 50 feet" (58).
This dam contained the water of Lake Taneycomo. The first sizable impounded lake in Missouri altered much of the region. Creeks, roads, and farms were changed, while fishing camps and vacation cottages were added to the area (58). 
Congress approved a four-dam, $134,000,000 flood control and hydroelectric power project on the upper White River in late 1941 (59). The second of these dams to be constructed was Bull Shoals dam, which was started in 1947. "When 256-foot-high Bull Shoals Dam was completed in 1951, it backed the river up 75 miles, to the base of Powersite Dam" (59). The people of the area expected better flood control with the construction of this dam. This was not the case. Destructive floods continued to occur both above and below the dam. This made the construction of Table Rock Dam a must.
This was the project that truly got things started for the Branson area. Table Rock Dam finally tamed the waters of the White River, producing more dependable conditions and providing hydroelectric power. Construction of the dam went from 
November 1954 to August 1958. The dam was 6,423 feet long and 252 feet tall. The dam formed 50,000 acres of lake.
The lakes of Taney county are linked undeniably to the dams. Without the dams there would be no lakes. Taney county contains parts of three lakes. These lakes are Lake Taneycomo, Bull Shoals Lake, and Table Rock Lake. The lakes are good places for boating, skiing, fishing, camping, and any other activities that can take place on a lake.
While providing all of the activities listed above, two of the lakes are very well known for fishing. Lake Taneycomo is known as being one of the best trout fishing lakes in the nation. The lake is stocked with fish by the Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery, which is located directly below Table Rock Dam. Equally popular for its fishing is Table Rock Lake. Table Rock is known for some of the best bass fishing in the nation, making it possibly the biggest draw in Southwest Missouri.
These lakes were all formed by the construction of dams along the White River between 1911 and 1958. Although these lakes greatly changed the way Taney County looked before, "the lakes provide a new kind of beauty, and the financial and recreational gains have been substantial" (Reuter 62).
Works Cited
Photographs of Powersite Dam and Lake Taneycomo taken by Aaron Dalton
Photograph of Tablerock Dam courtesy of Lyons Memorial Library, College of the Ozarks
Van Buskirk, Kathleen. In the Heart of Ozark Mountain Country: A Popular History of Stone and Taney Counties including Branson, MO. Reeds Spring, MO: White Oak Press, 1992, pp. 56-62.
