Lake Bennett Construction: The First Watershed Reservoir in the United States

Lake Bennett was the first watershed reservoir constructed in the United States. Its purpose is for flood control and to trap sediment and nutrients running off the landscape. Hugh Hammond Bennett headed the first Watershed Studies in the country during the "Dust Bowl." Funding was provided by the Department of Agriculture to perform a watershed study and to build a reservoir. A combination of funding and technical service from the Soil Conservation Service, Work Progress Administration, and the Civilian Conservation Corp created Camp Halsey and constructed Lake Bennett. Click the link in bold print to read more about Lake Bennett Construction.

Camp Halsey and Conservation Work in the Cadron Watershed

The construction of Lake Bennett and all of the sediment research conducted during the Cadron Creek Demonstration Project (Project No. 17) was undertaken by residents of Camp Halsey. Camp Halsey was a Civilian Conservation Corps camp constructed to the east of Lake Bennett and what is currently Woolly Hollow State Park. Follow this link to read more about the Cadron Creek Demonstration Project​ in the 1930's. Follow this link to learn more about research conducted for Camp Halsey by the University of Central Arkansas and the Faulkner County Museum

Lake Bennett Flood 2017

​During the Spring of 2017, ten inches of rainfall caused Lake Bennett to over top the masonry core dam, washing away nearly all of the 39,000 cubic yards of back fill that reinforced the dam integrity for over 80 years. Follow this link to learn more about this flood and how it was repaired: Lake Bennett Flood 2017.