Lake Strom Thurmond, officially designated J. Strom Thurmond Reservoir[1] at the federal level, and Clarks Hill Lake by the state of Georgia,[2] is a man-made reservoir at the border between the U.S. states of Georgia and South Carolina in the Savannah River Basin.

The dam was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1946 and 1954, but the lake was filled during 1951 and 1952 as part of a flood control, hydropower, and navigation project.

J. Strom Thurmond Lake and Dam is the first Corps of Engineers project to be built in the Savannah River Basin.

This lake was later renamed to commemorate a late senator from Georgia, Richard B. Russell, who was an important supporter of building dams on the river.

This movement gained support due to the senator's popularity in the area, and in 1988 the project was congressionally renamed "J. Strom Thurmond Dam and Lake at Clarks Hill."

(See "Years Gone By: Information on the Origin of the Names Clarks Hill," Reservoirs—Clarks II Subjects, DOC-1991, Georgia Archives, Morrow.)

[7] Many residents of both states were upset by the sudden change of name of the lake and the dam, which had not been open to public comment.