Let's face it, Lake Texoma is big. It's so big that there are many different "neighborhoods" to explore, whether you're just visiting the lake or seriously looking for a lake place to call your own.
Although the Denison Dam is well known as the primary reason the Red River between Oklahoma and Texas swelled into the lake we all love today, there is actually another dam, or so it's rumored. Our mystery dam has a neighborhood all its own.
But, first things first. The Denison Dam was built during the second world war, completed in 1944, and at that time it was the largest earth-filled dam in America. It eventually lost that status (now it's number 12) but it serves as flood control as well as a hydro-electric power generator, and, as many fisherman will tell you, a great place to fish. The Denison Dam is accessed by Highway 91, off Highway 75 at Denison, Texas.
So, where is that other, mystery dam on Lake Texoma located?
Actually, the Army Corps of Engineers calls it a levee, not a dam. But fisherman call it a dam, hence the confusion. And it's really two levees (dams) not one, just to confuse the issue a little more.
The Cumberland Levee North and the Cumberland Levee South are located at the far north end of Lake Texoma, off Hwy 78, west of Fort Washita in Bryan County, Oklahoma. They control flooding in the area, which the Corps describes as "high risk," and serve as a significant component of the flood control purposes of Lake Texoma, augmenting the larger purposes of the Denison Dam.
There's a little town called Cumberland that is located west of Lake Texoma in Marshall County, Oklahoma, in the general area as well. And, the partially restored ruins of old Fort Washita, unused since the Civil War period, are maintained by the Oklahoma Historical Society and open to the public, east of the levees.
So, there you have it. You are in the know regarding the "other" dam on Lake Texoma. Don't let anyone (except the Army Corps of Engineers of course) tell you that there's only one dam on Lake Texoma. Now you know better!