Missouri State Archives Bagnell Dam Construction Photographs The
Lake of the Ozarks is one of the largest man-made lakes in the
United States. With a surface area of 55,000 acres, stretching
92 miles from end to end, and over 1,150 miles of shoreline,
this lake brings in millions of dollars in tourism to Missouri
each year. The lake is a direct result of the creation of the
Bagnell Dam, built by the Union Electric Light and Power Company
of St. Louis (now AmerenUE) between 1929 and 1931. Bagnell Dam,
named for the closest town when construction first started, is a
148-foot tall, 2,543 foot-long concrete gravity dam with a
520-foot long spillway, and a 511-foot long power station. The
Stone and Webster Engineering Corporation designed and
engineered the dam construction on the Osage River at a cost of
more than $30 million. At the time of Bagnell Dam’s
construction, the Osage River valley was lush and fertile.
Damming of the Osage River caused the river to snake back on
itself, submerging the timber and farm l