Grapevine Lake

Tate was about 9 years old when his father, Grapevine Mayor Gordon Tate, dedicated Grapevine Lake in July 1952. William D. Tate recalls pushing one of eight tiny red buttons that lowered the gates to block water from passing through the dam, which allowed water to back up to make the lake. He said the state released several hundred thousands of bass, crappie and channel catfish fingerlings into the lake before it opened.

"They closed the fishing for two years to allow them to grow up," he said. "When they opened it, they were about two pounds."

Now many of the fish are descendants of the first fish released into the lake, Tate said.

Records have been broken for fish caught in Grapevine Lake. One blue catfish caught by rod and reel in March 2010 was 40 inches and 44.20 pounds, according to Texas Parks & Wildlife. The lake has helped spur economic development in Grapevine, Tate said.

"It exposed us as a community, and people started wanting to move here and live here to be close to the lake," Tate said.

The lake stretches across 19 miles and covers 7,280 acres at a normal level of 535 feet elevation. It draws more than 2 million visitors every year for a variety of activities, such as camping, swimming, boating and fishing. A variety of fish, including spotted bass, largemouth bass, white bass, white crappie and channel catfish, populate the lake.

"It is viewed as a wonderful asset to the quality of life for the citizens of Grapevine," said Joe Moore, Grapevine's assistant director of Parks and Recreation. "You've got to think about the fact that many cities don't have a lake in close proximity to their citizens."

References: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, "Grapevine Area History," "Images of America: Grapevine," Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau, Grapevine Historical Society, Texas Parks & Wildlife, Dallas Morning News historic archives