Gardner Lake – Gardner KS

Description

This 100 acre lake, north of Gardner, was created by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1935 and 1938. According to a local history site, “Prior to building the lake, a camp was built to house the 200+ transient workers who would live there during construction. It was called ‘Transient Camp # 9’. The camp buildings included a mess hall, bath houses, barracks, a kitchen, hospital, waterworks and recreation hall. The laborers were provided food shelter, clothing, and medical care, and were paid $1 to $3 per week. Excavation began in 1935. By May 1936 there were 225 men working three daily shifts to build the dam. In 1937 KCPL installed the first electric lines around the east side of the lake.”