Pactola Lake is the largest reservoir in the Black Hills of South Dakota, United States; it was created by the construction of the Pactola Dam. It was started on 25 November 1952. Contrary to popular belief there is no town at the bottom of Pactola Lake. The Bureau of Reclamation clear cut and cleaned the lake bottom before it filled. The few buildings still there by the time the dam was finished on August 15, 1956 were moved or auctioned off. The only structure under the water is the old Civilian Conservation Corp camp dynamite bunker.