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| On September 9,
1935, as completion of the dam approached, President Franklin Roosevelt
visited the dam for its formal dedication.
Thousands of people and cars packed the road leading up to and crossing the dam. Dressed in their finest, workers listened with pride as the president congratulated them on their part in the accomplishment. "I came, I saw, I was conquered . . ." President Roosevelt During the dedication Roosevelt talked of progress and how the face of the American west would forever be changed. But as often is the case with progress, sacrifices had to be made. Not only were lives lost, but entire towns and cultures as well. Stemming the flow of the Colorado also meant the formation of reservoir. Stretching over 100 miles, the reservoir, Lake Mead, became the first National Recreation Area in the United States. Families could gather for boating, fishing, picnicking, and sunbathing. However, the new lake had once been to home to hundreds of 19th century settlers as well as ancient Native American civilizations. Once the waters of Lake Mead began to form behind Hoover Dam, former towns like Saint Thomas and Kaolin, and many archaeological sites were covered forever. |
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