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History
The area around Smith Mountain Lake was home to the Sapony Indians before the year 1,000 and became a meeting spot for many tribes up until the early 1700’s because it was a rich hunting ground. The early colonial explorers to the area in the 1670’s included John Lederer, a German who explored this area and Thomas Wood, Thomas Batt and Robert Fallam who were journeying to the New River Valley. Descriptions of the bountiful game and rich ground were carried to settlements back east, so it wasn’t long until settlers began to migrate to the area. They were to some extent enticed by the huge tracts of land being given to settlers with a promise of ten tax free years and naturalization to any aliens choosing to settle the area. Among the first were two brothers who arrived in 1740, Daniel and Gideon Smith who built homes near one of the beautiful rivers. The lake and mountain owe their name to these brothers. The area the Smiths settled remained a fertile, rural farming region and became known as Smith Mountain Lake when the Smith Mountain Lake Dam was completed and the lake was filled to capacity in 1966. AEP’s Smith Mountain Project was one of the first large-scale combination pumped storage and hydroelectric developments in the nation. Water stored in the Smith Mountain Lake drops through turbine generators in the Dam Powerhouse producing electricity. Instead of letting the water run downstream, most is caught and held by the Leesville Dam. Later this water is pumped back into Smith Mountain Lake to repeat the cycle. The portion of water that does go through the Leesville Dam generates additional electricity. The project, built expressly for the generation of electricity during times of peak demand, has proved to have numerous additional benefits. There has been a tremendous impact on the economy of the surrounding counties in the form of new housing, new businesses, and tremendous recreational opportunities for both residents and vacationers.
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Location
Smith Mountain Lake stretches across 22,000 beautiful acres on the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains. With 500 miles of shoreline, the lake borders three counties in Southwestern Virginia: Bedford, Franklin and Pittsylvania and is conveniently located between the major cities of Roanoke, Danville and Lynchburg, VA. The lake area population is a little over 18,000.
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Climate
Mild temperatures and distinct seasons prevail year-round. The average temperature in the summer falls in the mid-70s and in the winter is in the high-30s. Annual precipitation is 45 inches of rain and 15 inches of snow.
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