DeGray Lake
body of water
DeGray Lake is a reservoir on the Caddo River constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in Arkansas, 8 miles (13 km) from Arkadelphia. Arkansas Scenic Byway 7 is located on the eastern shore of the lake, and provides views of the lake, and also places to stay. DeGray Lake Resort State Park was opened in 1974 to encourage tourism and recreation on DeGray Lake.
The DeGray Dam project, encompassing flood-control, power, and water-supply features is located in northern Clark County, Arkansas on the Caddo River approximately eight miles above its confluence with the Ouachita River. The project plan for DeGray Lake included the construction of the DeGray Dam with a height of 240 feet above the Caddo River, a dike that splits the Caddo River and Bayou de Roche, an outlet works, an uncontrolled spillway, and a powerhouse.
History
Prehistory
The documented history of the DeGray area dates back to AD 700 when the area was inhabited by the Caddo Indians. Caddo is believed to be a shortened version of the Indian word "kadohadacho", which was used to identify the large family of tribes living in southwest Arkansas, northwest Louisiana, and northeast Texas. Historians believe there were at least 12 tribes in this confederation that usually settled along streambanks. Hernando de Soto then came and explored this area in 1541, after discovering hot springs. The Caddo Indians' way of life was changed forever when coming in contact with the Spanish explorers; the Indians were introduced to the horse.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5243909. The Library of Congress control number is sh90001449. Authority coordinates are 34.215, -93.111. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1974 and 1541.
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This entry incorporates text from “DeGray Lake” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.