Lake Murray
Columbia, South Carolina

Lake Murray is named after William Murray, the engineer who, with his partner T. C. Williams, conceived and persevered until "the world's largest earthen dam" at that time was finished. Their vision of harnessing hydroelectric power here and at the Santee Cooper project brought abundant electricity to the middle part of South Carolina. Work on the dam across the Saluda River was started on September 21, 1927 and was finished on June 30, 1930.

The river begins near the North Carolina border. As it runs to the sea, it fills Greenville Water reservoir, Greenwood Lake, and then Lake Murray. Past the dam, the Saluda joins the Congaree and Wateree rivers to flow to the Atlantic Ocean.

The dam itself was built over 200 feet tall. It runs a distance of a mile and a half across. The ground level of the dam is over a quarter of a mile thick. The lake that it forms is forty-one miles long and, in places, over fourteen miles wide. State Highway 6 runs along the top of the dam, giving a panoramic view of the water on one side and the layout of the SCE&G Power Plant below.

The lake has over 500 miles of shoreline, and forms an impoundment of over 50,000 acres. To make the building of the lake possible, more than 1000 tracts of land were acquired, and 5,000 people's homes were relocated. In its conception, it gave jobs and cheap electricity to the people of the Midlands of south Carolina, and in its enduring, gives them lasting beauty and enjoyment.

Lake Murray Properties, Inc.
Pam Shealy/Ralph McClendon (pshealy@hotmail.com)
108 Front Street, Gilbert, SC 29054, 803-730-7612 www.lakemurrayproperty.net

Remax Metro
Arthur Dill, arthurdill@southcarolinaproperty.net
301 Harbor Heights Dr., Lexington, SC, 29072, 803-996-0808 www.lakemurrayproperty.com
 

Click HERE for a  map.

www.lakemurray.com

Lake Murray is bordered by four counties: Richland. Lexington, Newberry and Saluda. Local towns include Irmo, Ballentine, Chapin and Lexington. The nearest major city is Columbia, some ten miles from the closest point on the lake.

Activities and Attractions

Golf nearby at Timberlake as well as a par three and driving range near Chapin.

Live theater in Chapin.

Lunch Island, also known as Doolittle Island or Bombing Range Island, in the middle of Lake Murray, is North America's first officially designated Purple Martin sanctuary. On summer evenings, boats gather at dusk to witness the spectacle of thousands and thousands of Purple Martins coming to the island to roost.

www.aerialvantage.com
AerialVantage is a South Carolina-based business that publishes custom aerial photography and satellite imagery in poster format as art for your home and office.

Crappie Hole
803-345-5606, 726 Amicks Ferry Rd, Chapin, SC 29036-9406

Fishunt Maps
803-345-5074, PO Box 86, Chapin, SC

Professional Fishing Guide
803-356-2286, Chapin, SC

Padgett's Bait & Tackle
864-445-7306, Highway 378,
Batesburg, SC

SCE&G maintains public access areas at the North and South ends of the dam. 
The one at the North end provides boat launch facilities.


Lake Murray Marina
803-781-1585, 1600 Marina Rd, Irmo, SC

Frick's Marine Service & Salvage
803-345-9632, 104 Lakemont Dr, Chapin, SC 29036-9540

Siesta Cove Marina-Campground
803-892-2978, 256 John Long Rd, Gilbert, SC 29054-9617

Just Add Water Inc (Boat Rental and Guides)
803-345-9682, 2164 Amicks Ferry Rd, Chapin, SC 29036-7922

Boat Yard
803-932-0266, 1006 Putnam Dr, Chapin, SC 29036-9784

Dreher Island State Park
803-364-3530, 3677 State Park Rd, Prosperity, SC 29127-8449

Crooked Creek Park
803-345-6181, 1098 Old Lexington Hwy, Chapin, SC

Flea Market Campground
803-276-5602, 2221 Sc Highway 773, Prosperity, SC

Woodsmoke Campground & Propane
803-749-8748, 11300 Broad River Rd, Irmo, SC

If you do not see a menu on the left, please CLICK HERE for the complete Lake Page.