Missouri Life October 2023

the first marina to open on the lake. Established in 1982, after the facility was floated to its new home near Warsaw from its original location at Osceola, Osage Bluff Marina gets boaters prepared for their day on the water with amenities that include a full-service restaurant and a convenience store. Boaters seeking solitude for fishing or autumn leaf-peeping will find it at Truman Lake. Unlike the adjacent Lake of the Ozarks, there aren’t houses and condos crowding the shoreline. Truman Lake is not a party lake, and that happened by design. “Many people thought this might turn out like Lake of the Ozarks, but the Corps has put some controls in place,” says Warsaw resident Amie Breshears, whose father was a member of the Army Corps of Engineers in the lake’s early days. “People are glad the Corps doesn’t allow building right next to the water, so it’s a little bit quieter.”

area sea, but his hypothesis was based on poorly reassembled mastodon bones. The Visitor Center itself is a destination for all who appreciate dramatic midcentury architecture. The building, with its curved walls and window-lined observation deck, extends from a high bluff and overlooks the lake and dam. Visitors enjoy a birds-eye view and sometimes find themselves eye-to-eye with the birds as eagles and vultures swoop by on the wind currents. Budget constraints at the Corps of Engineers mean public access to the Visitor Center is limited to weekends (Fridays through Sundays) from mid-April through the end of September. Harry S. Truman State Park is located on a peninsula that extends out into the lake with water access on three sides. At bottom, Warsaw’s Drake Harbor offers trails, picnic areas, and playgrounds for family fun.

ENJOY THE VIEW From concept to completion, the development of the Truman Dam and Reservoir took more than a quarter century. By the time the project was completed in 1979, 8.5 million cubic yards of earth had been excavated. There were 327,000 cubic yards of concrete incorporated into the dam, with its 5,000-foot-long earthen embankment and 964-foot-long concrete section. At its highest point, the dam is 126 feet above the Osage River bed. Truman Lake lies approximately 700 feet below sea level. Typically, its surface area covers more than 55,400 acres. During flooding episodes, water may cover upward of 200,000 acres, touching portions of Benton, Henry, Hickory, and St. Clair counties. The US Army Corps of Engineers manages or leases 20 parks and access areas near the reservoir, including 100,000 land acres of rugged, rocky hills and bluffs, as well as forests and prairie. As the project unfolded in the ’70s, attitudes began to change when the area economy improved. “The construction phase was an economic boon,” says longtime local and Benton County Historical Society volunteer Randy Eaton. “It provided jobs and housing. Many improvements were made with grant money. Lots of people moved here to work, and they never left.” The history of the construction is recounted through displays at the Harry S. Truman Dam & Reservoir Visitor Center . Other exhibits at the center address Truman Lake’s cultural and natural history through displays of fossils and artifacts, and a large-scale painting of a Missouri leviathan. This is a creature that a mistaken scientist suggested once inhabited an ancient

CHOOSE YOUR ACTIVITY Located on a peninsula that juts out into the lake, Harry S. Truman State Park is a gem among the many treasures in the state park system. The 1,440-acre park features two swimming beaches for vacationers or day-trippers. Although the campground beach is open exclusively to those who are camping at one of the basic or electric campsites in the park, the other is open to every one for daytime swimming. There are restrooms and changing rooms nearby. For those who prefer drier forms of recreation, the park features miles of hiking trails, including the Western Wallflower Glade Trail that preserves glade and savanna habitat in presettlement conditions and the Bluff Ridge Trail that offers commanding views of the lake. There’s a marina in the park, too, with watercraft rentals, fishing supplies, and a four-lane launch for those who prefer to bring their own boat.

MISSOURI STATE PARKS, LISA WATERMAN GRAY

41 / OCTOBER 2023