Initial proposals were made in the late 1920s to dam the
Roanoke River and the Blackwater River at the
Smith Mountain gorge to generate
electricity. Construction on the
Smith Mountain Dam began in 1960 and was completed in 1963. The lake reached its normal water level in March 1966. The lake covers and has over of shoreline. The north shore of the lake lies entirely in
Bedford County. Located along the lake shore at
Wirtz, Virginia, is the
Gwin Dudley Home Site, listed on the
National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
Development Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the area around Smith Mountain Lake remained rural and remote with tobacco farms and other agriculture. Marinas provided the bulk of public access in the early years of the lake. The limited early residential developments around the lake consisted largely of small trailer parks and modest houses. However, residential growth has been steady since the mid-1980s and increasingly upscale with large lakefront houses, condominiums, and communities centered on
golf courses. The lake has attracted many who
commute to
Roanoke and
Lynchburg and many retirees, many of whom have relocated from the
Northeast. By the late 1990s, the number and affluence of the new residents resulted in the construction of new retail and commercial developments near the lake. Recent shoreline development has been limited to residential construction. With the enactment of Federal oversight of shoreline development in 1998 coupled with soaring real estate values, there is an escalating loss of public access to the lake as the lake's marinas are sold for residential development.
State Route 122 is the only primary highway that crosses the lake, though
State Route 24,
State Route 116, and
State Route 40 are nearby.
Licensing American Electric Power (AEP) is licensed to operate the Smith Mountain Project by the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The initial license term was for fifty years. In 1998, AEP began the process of relicensing. Under the requirements of relicensing, AEP was required to perform numerous studies to determine management requirements during the upcoming license term. In December, 2009 the U.S.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted
Appalachian Power a new license to operate the hydro-electricity plant. The new 30-year license replaces the original 50-year license and addresses recreational and environmental management.
Shoreline management In 1998, the FERC required AEP to devise and implement a
shoreline management plan. The Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) limits the development of all property within the "project boundary." Local zoning regulations have been effectively superseded by the SMP regulations. AEP acts as the permitting agency. Any variance requests are reviewed by interested State and Federal agencies such as Virginia Dept of Game and Inland Fisheries. Disagreements must first proceed to the FERC, then be appealed through the Federal Judicial System. ==Geography==