During the 1940's and 1950's, some residents and community leaders in Navarro County, who recognized the potential for population growth, formed a small alliance devoted to preparing the towns and communities in the area for future demands. These visionaries and "forward thinkers" realized that the anticipated population increase would also bring about the need for a larger, more reliable source of water than was currently available. The community leaders met with state and national representatives to address the increasing demands for a reliable water supply and also discussed issues pertaining to flood protection for their houses, buildings and land, as well as the roads and bridges in the county. Congressmen, engineers and community leaders examined and investigated potential sites for a reservoir and eventually determined that the location near the Navarro Mills community would provide the greatest benefit to the public in the form of adequate flood protection and a reliable source of water. A bill was proposed, approved and apropriated to build the lake at it's current location. Construction began in January 1959 and the dam across Richland Creek was completed in March of 1963 at a cost of about $9.5 million. The lake has provided an immeasureable amount of flood protection for over 44 years and probably close to 100 billion gallons of water to the people of Navarro County. Add the incredibly diverse recreational opportunities that currently exist and have been enjoyed over the years and it's easy to reach the conclusion that it was money extremely well spent.

Note: 1963 proved to be a very good year for the Golden Circle as the Corsicana Tigers won the AAA state football championship that year.