History: Taming a Mighty River

Taming A Mighty River

Story & Photos provided by Terry Ommen

The Kaweah River of old was like the wild mustang that once roamed our valley—uncontrolled, free spirited, and dangerous, often running at breakneck speed on the Valley floor. And just like the early bronco buster who tamed the wild steed, in 1962, engineers harnessed this wild river by building Terminus Dam and creating Lake Kaweah—an act that, for the most part, put an end to the destructive force of the river. Its reign of terror was finally over, and there was a collective sigh of relief. And for the last 60 years, this much-anticipated man-made body of water has been on the map of Tulare County. The lake began with the river by the same name. For hundreds, possibly thousands of years, indigenous people fished its waters and lived on its banks. It wasn’t always called Kaweah River. According to some sources, the native people called it Pi-piyunna. When the Spanish explorers came, they called it Rio San Francisco, and still other Spaniards named it Rio San Gabriel. When U.S. Army Lieutenant George Derby surveyed the area in 1850, he referred to it as the River Francis (or Frances). As American settlers arrived, the name changed again, this time to Kaweah, named in honor of the tribe of Yokuts Indians called Kaweah, or Gawea, who lived nearby.

For likely a millennium or more, the river was a natural channel for Sierra Nevada snow runoff. Once the water reached the Valley floor, several tributaries split off, forming a fertile delta—a feature that earned the area the name Four Creeks in the early 1850s.

Although water flowed on the Kaweah year-round, some winters caused the river and its tributaries to overflow due to massive runoff from considerable snowfall in the mountains. These high water years occurred frequently, causing widespread flooding which resulted in considerable property damage and substantial misery. Because it was the most populated community in its path, Visalia was the target of many deluges. The early years (1853, 1858, 1861, 1867, 1880, 1884, and 1890) were some of the worst, and 1906, 1945, and 1955 weren’t any better.

The flood year of 1906 was an especially bad year for Visalia, with an unthinkable five floods happening within the first half of the year. The town was traumatized and rowboats could be seen on city streets. The business community was hit especially hard. The Merchant’s Association reflected on the devastation of the multiple floods and the Visalia Daily Times captured the organization’s sentiment, reporting, “At the meeting last night, they [Merchant’s Association] decided that a future inundation must be avoided, whatever the cost. They were unanimous in saying that they were going to keep the water out of Visalia next spring and the question of funds is a secondary consideration. They say there will be no more floods and there will be no more.” That year, Ben Maddox, publisher of the same newspaper, editorialized about the problem and concluded that damming the Kaweah for flood control was the answer. He was probably the first person with clout to suggest it, but many others followed. Unfortunately, everyone would have to wait.

In 1917, the California State Legislature discussed the possibility of a dam on the Kaweah for water “storage and conserving,” but no action was taken. The dam idea continued to surface now and then, becoming louder after each terrible flood. Voices grew stronger after the 1937 flood, so the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tested Limekiln Hill and Bell’s Bluff near Lemon Cove to determine their suitability as “anchor” hills for a future dam. Although tests proved positive, no dam was built, and floods continued along with cries for action.

During the years of World War II, the idea for a dam again gained traction, but funding proved difficult. The expensive war effort was gobbling up most of the state’s extra money, so the mighty Kaweah continued to flow freely.

The record-breaking 1955 flood proved to be a true watershed moment for the dam project. In April 1958, federal money for the Kaweah River dam was put into the budget. Finally, Tulare County was going to have a dam on the Kaweah River—in fact, not just one dam, the county was getting two. Funds for a Tule River dam were also included.

On February 19, 1959, ground was broken for the much-anticipated project on the Kaweah River called Terminus Dam—named for the end of the line of the Visalia Electric Railroad at the popular recreation area known as Terminus Beach. The kickoff ceremony was led by Master of Ceremonies, Visalia Mayor Ira Chrisman, who was also President of the Terminus-Success Flood Control Dams Association. About 1,000 people watched and listened as Harry Holley, longtime watermaster of the Kaweah River, pushed the plunger, setting off the first dynamite blast.

For the next three years, the Winston Brothers and Green Construction companies from Monrovia, California worked on the “rolled earth fill” Terminus Dam. Excavation equipment moved dirt, workers rerouted Highway 198, and concrete was poured. In 1962, the $24 million project was finished with 560 square miles of Kaweah River drainage now harnessed.

On May 18th, dedication ceremonies were held on Lemon Hill near the completed dam with nearly 1,000 people in attendance. Major General William F. Cassidy, the Deputy Chief Engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, gave the keynote address, calling the project a monument that will be as “durable as the pyramids of Egypt.” Later that day, the group moved south and Success Dam was also dedicated.

Referring to Terminus, the Visalia Times-Delta expressed the sentiment of many, noting that Tulare County could now “look forward to wet years without the fear of repetition of the nearly $20 million damage done by the 1955 flood.”

Today, the popular Lake Kaweah offers recreational activities like camping, fishing, boating, and waterskiing, while providing needed water storage and a more efficient water distribution system for crop irrigation. But to many, more importantly, completion of the reservoir and dam meant flood protection from an untamed and sometimes dangerous Kaweah River. Today, the river shows little evidence of its wilder days.

The 1955 flood was devastating, especially for Visalia. This view is looking east on Main near Garden Street. Note the Visalia Theater on the right.