J. Strom Thurmond Dam, also known in Georgia as Clarks Hill Dam, is a concrete-gravity and embankment dam located north of Augusta, Georgia on the Savannah River at the border of South Carolina and Georgia, creating Lake Strom Thurmond. U.S. Route 221 (and Georgia State Route 150 on the Georgia side of the state line) cross it. The dam was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1946 and 1954 for the purposes of flood control, hydroelectricity and downstream navigation. The concrete structure of the dam spans and rises above the riverbed, housing a power plant with an installed 380 MW capacity. The Dam has prevented over $3.1 million in estimated flood damage annually and also provides recreation, water quality, water supply, along with fish and wildlife management. Since 1988, the official name of the dam is after Strom Thurmond, a longtime Senator. Originally accepted in Georgia, the dam is named after revolutionary war hero, Elijah Clark, who is also buried on the western banks of the lake on acreage that is now Elijah Clark State Park and Recreation Area. The USACE developed the Christopher D. Spiller pollinator trail in the site of housing for workers during the construction of the dam. They are also helping restore the longleaf pine on the site and around the dam which includes Piedmont prairie and longleaf pine habitat. History and construction In 1890, Lieutenant Oberlin M. Carter of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Savannah Office issued a survey report that recommended the construction of dams on the Savannah River in order to prevent flooding in Augusta, Georgia. His report was overlooked until the 1927 Rivers and Harbors Act allowed the USACE to investigate development of the Savannah River for the purpose of hydroelectricity, navigation, flood control and irrigation. In 1933, the USACE completed the report for the entire Savannah River Basin that recommended against government flood control development of the basin but did propose two hydropower dams in the upper Savannah Basin, the Clark Hill and Hartwell Dams. Construction on the Clarks Hill project was not authorized until 1944 by the 78th Congress and prior efforts by local leaders in Augusta were instrumental in gaining approval. Support from the USACE along with Georgia Senators Walter F. George and Richard Russell and Georgia Congressman Paul Brown were important towards getting President Franklin D. Roosevelt's blessing in a 1935 plan. Roosevelt