Oldest Dams in Kentucky

Kentucky has 947 dams with recorded construction dates. The oldest dates to 1836 — 190 years ago. Kentucky's earliest dams were built in the 19th century, an era of westward expansion, irrigation development, and early water infrastructure. Older dams require particular attention for safety, as many were built before modern engineering standards.

#	Dam	County	Year Built	Age	Height (ft)	Hazard	Condition
1	Green River Lock And Dam 3	Ohio	1836	190 yrs	27	Significant	Satisfactory
2	Kentucky River Lock And Dam 1	Carroll	1839	187 yrs	35	Low	Fair
3	Kentucky River Lock And Dam 2	Henry	1839	187 yrs	34	Low	Fair
4	Kentucky River Lock And Dam 4	Franklin	1844	182 yrs	27	Significant	Fair
5	Kentucky River Lock And Dam 3	Owen	1844	182 yrs	22	Significant	Fair
6	Ky River Lock & Dam 5	Woodford	1844	182 yrs	36	Low	Fair
7	Newport Reservoir	Campbell	1873	153 yrs	52	Significant	Satisfactory
8	Fern Lake Dam	Bell	1890	136 yrs	53	High	Fair
9	Kentucky River Lock & Dam 6	Mercer	1891	135 yrs	34	Low	Fair
10	Willow Dam	Jefferson	1900	126 yrs	33	Low	Poor
11	Kentucky River Lock & Dam 8	Jessamine	1900	126 yrs	31	Significant	Satisfactory
12	Lexington Reservoir 3 Dam	Fayette	1902	124 yrs	40	High	Poor
13	Kentucky River Lock & Dam No. 11	Estill	1906	120 yrs	35	Significant	Satisfactory
14	Kentucky River Lock & Dam 9	Jessamine	1907	119 yrs	36	High	Fair
15	Kentucky River Lock & Dam 10	Madison	1907	119 yrs	37	High	Satisfactory
16	Puckett Lake Dam	Estill	1908	118 yrs	40	Significant	Poor
17	Ravenna	Estill	1910	116 yrs	95	Low	Satisfactory
18	Elkhorn Lake Dam	Letcher	1912	114 yrs	40	High	Unsatisfactory
19	Kentucky River Lock & Dam 13	Lee	1915	111 yrs	43	Low	Fair
20	Princeton Railroad Lake Dam	Caldwell	1917	109 yrs	23	Low	Not Rated
21	Kentucky River Lock & Dam 14	Lee	1917	109 yrs	32	Significant	Fair
22	Tank Pond Dam	Boyle	1920	106 yrs	29	High	Unsatisfactory
23	Lexington Reservoir No 4	Fayette	1920	106 yrs	38	High	Fair
24	Cynthiana Impoundment	Harrison	1920	106 yrs	10	Significant	Satisfactory
25	Pine Hill Lake No 1	Jefferson	1920	106 yrs	27	High	Fair
26	Ryland Lakes Dam No 3	Kenton	1920	106 yrs	40	Low	Poor
27	Wilton Lake	Knox	1920	106 yrs	25	Significant	Poor
28	Stearns Reservoir Dam	McCreary	1920	106 yrs	35	Low	Not Rated
29	Lagrange L&n Railroad Lake Dam	Oldham	1920	106 yrs	22	Significant	Poor
30	Somerset Reservoir Dam	Pulaski	1920	106 yrs	22	Low	Not Rated
31	Sleepy Hollow Lake Dam	Oldham	1922	104 yrs	23	Low	Fair
32	Dix River Dam	Mercer	1925	101 yrs	287	High	Satisfactory
33	Dorthae Dam	Laurel	1926	100 yrs	33	Significant	Satisfactory
34	Kentucky River Lock & Dam No. 7	Mercer	1926	100 yrs	24	Low	Satisfactory
35	Upper Alexandria Dam	Campbell	1930	96 yrs	35	High	Poor
36	Tradewater River Dam	Christian	1930	96 yrs	35	Low	Not Rated
37	Old Marion City Lake Dam	Crittenden	1930	96 yrs	13	Significant	Poor
38	Miller Lake Dam	Daviess	1930	96 yrs	24	Low	Not Rated
39	Pine Knob Dam	Grayson	1930	96 yrs	25	High	Unsatisfactory
40	Sanders Spring Reservoir	Hardin	1930	96 yrs	37	Low	Fair
41	Burbanks Lake Dam	Henderson	1930	96 yrs	19	Low	Not Rated
42	Madisonville Reservoir 2 Dam	Hopkins	1930	96 yrs	30	High	Poor
43	Madisonville Reservoir Dam No 3 (south)	Hopkins	1930	96 yrs	30	Low	Not Rated
44	Madisonville Reservoir 1 Dam	Hopkins	1930	96 yrs	22	High	Unsatisfactory
45	Riggs Lake Dam	Jefferson	1930	96 yrs	18	Low	Fair
46	Duncan Nave Dam	Jessamine	1930	96 yrs	15	High	Poor
47	Swan Pond Lake	Knox	1930	96 yrs	30	Low	Not Rated
48	Bridge Fork Dam	McCreary	1930	96 yrs	105	Significant	Poor
49	Kirkwood Lake	Muhlenberg	1930	96 yrs	25	Low	Not Rated
50	Greenville City Lake Dam	Muhlenberg	1930	96 yrs	28	High	Satisfactory

← All dams in Kentucky · Oldest dams nationwide