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 Council Grove Lake
Federal Reservoir
Visitors Welcome
Opportunities for recreation at Council Grove Lake include swimming, boating, water skiing, camping, picnicking, sightseeing, hunting, and fishing.
Food, bait, tackle, boat rentals, etc., are available near the lake. Facilities available at the park areas are listed on the map side of this pamphlet.
Please keep the area beautiful for other visitors. Avoid damaging trees and plants. Extinguish all fires, and use trash cans to dispose of refuse.
Inquiries regarding the project and its use are welcomed by the Lake Manager at the Lake Office near the dam. Copies of rules and regulations governing public use of the lake and other information may be obtained at the Lake Office. Our mailing address is Lake Manager, Council Grove Lake Office, US Army Corps of Engineers, 945 Lake Road, KS 66846- 620-767-5195
RECREATION FISHING AND HUNTING
Excellent opportunities for hunting and fishing are available at Council Grove Lake. Principal sport fishing species include white crappie, walleye, channel catfish, flathead catfish, white bass, largemouth bass, and various sunfish. The exotic Northern Pike has been stocked but with little success.
The Kansas Fish and Game Commission has a license to 2,638 acres of the project area for game management and public hunting. Wildlife species include bobwhite quail, waterfowl, mourning dove, pheasant, prairie chicken, cottontail rabbit, squirrel, and deer.
Hunting and fishing activities are regulated by Federal and State laws. Courtesy and safety should be practiced when utilizing public lands to insure a pleasant recreational experience.
CAMPING AND PICNICKING
Access roads lead into eight park areas offering picnicking and camping sites, swimming beaches, boat launching ramps, water wells, sanitary facilities, fireplaces, and shelters.
BOATING
Boating on the lake is in accordance with Kansas boating laws and Corps of Engineers’ regulations. Operate your boat in a controlled, safe manner at all times.
SIGHTSEEING
Opportunities for sightseers and nature lovers are many at Council Grove Lake, nestled in the northern quarter of the famous Flint Hills. The topography of the area varies from wooden slopes to rolling, open crop and pasture land. Native trees and shrubs include ash, cottonwood, elm, hickory, oak, walnut, sycamore, hawthorn, redbud, deciduous holly, and sumac.
Safety Suggestions
BOATING
Don’t overload your boat
Boats must not approach closer to the dam than indicated by warning signs or safety buoy lines.
If your boat upsets, stick to it and use it as a life preserver.
Standing in a boat can lead to disaster.
Head for shore if bad weather threatens.
Slow down when approaching small boats, docks, or skiers.
Help a boat in distress. Give help and if you need help, ask for it.
Each boat must have an approved flotation device for each passenger.
SWIMMING
- Swim and wade only where you are familiar with the water depths and the bottom.
- Don’t swim alone. There’s safety in numbers.
- Be sure water is deep enough before diving.
- Be careful of overestimating your swimming ability as water distances are deceiving.
- Watch children and non-swimmers closely.
- Swimmers should avoid regular boat channels, launching ramps, and docks.
FISHING
- Keep clear of boat channels, ski and swimming areas.
- Be careful when casting.
- If trolling, watch water ahead and traffic.
- Be considerate of others.
SKIING
- Always wear an approved personal flotation device.
- Stay in open water. Watch for swimmers.
- Have at least two people in the boat, one to run the boat, and one to watch the skier.
HUNTING
- Know the correct way to carry your gun.
- Treat every gun as if it were loaded.
- Always point the gun muzzle in a safe direction.
- Be sure of your target.
- Keep the safety on or the chamber unloaded until ready to fire.
- Never lay a loaded gun on bottom of boat.
- Never shoot a rifle at the water.
HAZARDS
Council Grove Lake has numerous underwater hazards. Be especially watchful for submerged slumps, logs, fences, and other obstructions-particularly in shallow water and along the shoreline.
Early Day History
The dam’s name comes from Council Grove, Kansas, known as the birthplace of the old Santa Fe Trail and for many years the last outfitting post between the Missouri River and Santa Fe. Emporia, home of newspaper editor William Allen White, is 18 miles southeast of Council Grove, and the State capital, Topeka, is about 50 miles northeast of the dam. The area’s historical heritage dates to 1541 when the Spanish explorer Coronado traveled through this section. The Kansas Memorial Building in Topeka contains a sword picked up on the Kansas plains where it had been dropped by one of Coronado’s men. As early as the 1820’s, the place where Council Grove now stands was mentioned by travelers. Until 1846 the area was Indian territory, and white settlement was restricted. The first white settler entered Morris County in 1847 and established there. Kansas became a territory in 1854, and Council Grove incorporated as a town in 1858. The area is rich in romantic stories of the frontiersman and the early pioneer. It is said that Kit Carson cut the name of “Council Grove” on a buffalo hide and nailed it to the huge oak tree under which a treaty with the Osage Indians was signed in 1825 to establish a trail for overland freighters in their territory.
The marked stump of the Council Grove Oak is still visible on the north side of Main Street in Council Grove. Post Office Oak, where letters were left for caravans passing through the area between 1825 and 1847, still stands on the same side of the street. The Santa Fe Trail’s peak traffic year was 1860 when a Government survey reported 3,000 wagons, 7,000 men and 60,000 mules used the route. Heavy traffic continued until after the Civil War.
The city itself has been designated a National Historic Landmark, and the city and area also boast the following attractions which have been entered on the national Register of Historic Places: Kaw Methodist Mission established in 1849-first Indian and White school, now a State Museum; Last Chance Store built in 1857-provided travelers and pack trains headed West their last chance to replenish supplies until they reached Santa Fe; Farmers and Drovers Bank built in 1892-a good example of Eclectic and architecture in Kansas with brick and stone masonry; and the William Young Archeological Site-occupational site of an Archaic culture (5,000 B.C. to 500 B.C.) which is located in the flood plain of Council Grove Lake.
Many other historic sites in Council Grove include: Old Hays Tavern built in 1857; Custer Elm- General George Custer and his famous 7th Cavalry camped under this elm in 1867; The Madonna of the Trail Monument on the old Santa Fe Trail campground, now known as Madonna Park; Old Bell Monument dating from 1863. which called people to church, children to school, and warned of approaching floods, fires, and Indians raids; Father Padilla’s Monument-Memorial to Father Juan Padilla, first Christian martyr in the United States; Pioneer Monument to the Unknown Indian (4 miles southeast)-marks the burial spot of an unknown Indian on the Old Kaw reservation.
Project Data
LOCATION
Council Grove Dam is located on the Neosho River about 1.5 miles to northwest of Council Grove, Kansas
HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT
Authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1950, the project was designed and built by the Tulsa Distric, Corps of Engineers, at a cost of $11.5 million. Construction began in 1960, and the project was placed in full flood control operation in October 1964. The project is one of seven lakes authorized for full development of the Neosho River Basin in Kansas and Oklahoma. The four in Kansas are Council Grove and John Redmond on the Neosho River and Marion and Cedar point on the Cottonwood River, a tributary of the Neosho. The three in Oklahoma are Fort Gibson, Markham Ferry, and Pensacola. Only Cedar Point Dam remains to be contructed.
OPERATION
In addition to flood reduction, Council Grove Lake is also used for water quality control, conservation, recreation, and eventually, storage for municipal water for Empoira and Iola.
Council Grove Lake, in order to accomplish its function, has three kinds of storage that are separated by zones from the top to the bottom of the lake: flood, conservation, and incactive storage.
The top zone or “flood storage” portion of the lake has 63,765 acre-feet reserved to catch floodwaters and will remain empty except during times of flood control operation. An acre-foot is 325,850 gallons-enough water to cover on acre, one foot deep.
The middle zone of “conservation storage” provides 48,500 are-feet of storage for water supply and water quality control purposes.
WATERSHED
Drainage area above the dam, square miles…..246
LAKE
Elevations, feel above mean sea level
Top of flood pool……………………1,289.0
Top of conservation pool
(normal pool) ……………1,274.0
Top of inactive pool…………………1,240.0
Surface of the lake, acres
At top of flood pool…………………… 5,400
At top of conservation pool…………… 3,235
At top of inactive pool……………………. 42
Storage capacities, acre-feet
Flood pool…………………………….63,765
Conservation pool…………………….48,500
Inactive pool…………………………….. 15
Lake total……………………………112,280
Shoreline length, miles
At top of conservation pool………………..40
DAM
Embankment
Length of dam, feet……………………...6,500
Maximum height of dam above streambed, feet
…………………………………………………96
Spillway
Type………………………………..uncontrolled
Length of spillway, gross, feet……………………500
OUTLET WORKS
Outlet conduit (1), diameter in feet………………..17
Low flow pipe (1), diameter in inches…………….24
Water supply pipe (1), diameter in inches………...24
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