 The lake was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), as authorized by the Flood Control Act of October 23, 1962 (Public Law 87-874) and is described in House Document No.469, 87th United States Congress, second session.Originally named "Bloomington Dam", it was renamed Jennings Randolph Lake in 1987 to honor the US Senator from West Virginia who was instrumental in this and many other water resource projects across the nation.