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In 1931, the Central Texas Hydro-Electric Company planned to build a dam on the Colorado River on the county line of Burnet and Llano counties. However, in April 1932, the project went bankrupt and lay unfinished. State Senator Alvin Wirtz took the project, and, unable to secure private funding, turned to government. Wirtz secured the support of U.S. Representative and Chairman of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee J.P. Buchanan by promising to name the dam after him. In 1934, House Bill No 1. of the 43rd Texas Legislature created the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), a conservation and reclamation district, in order to “control, store, preserve, use, distribute, and sell” the waters of the Colorado River.
In the midst of the Great Depression, Buchanan Dam, often called the Hamilton Dam, and Inks Dam further downriver provided badly needed jobs to Burnet County residents. Locals lined up to receive one of the 1,800 new positions, mostly construction jobs paying 40 cents an hour. The salaries allowed families to maintain a better standard of living as well as supplement their farming income. In October 1937, the LCRA celebrated completion of the dam with a ceremony.
Upstream flooding behind the Buchanan Dam, creating Lake Buchanan, had immediate effects on the community. Many long-term residents moved out of the path of the new lake. Around sixty graves interred in Old Bluffton Cemetery were re-interred in New Bluffton in Llano County. The lake’s recreational potential brought new business and residents to Burnet and Llano, and fishing camps and vacation rentals were built near its shore. Since its inception, Buchanan Dam has brought numerous advantages to Burnet County. (2023) |
