The original power company built a 75 foot (23 m) high earthen dam on a branch of the east Fork of Shoal Creek in 1963.

The lake filled by 1966 to serve as cooling water for the coal-fired Coffeen Power Station until the shutdown of that plant in 2019.

It operates under a long-term lease and management agreement between the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Dynegy.

This agreement grants authority to the State to open the lake and certain lands to the public for recreational activities, such as fishing, boating, picnicking and hunting.

A variety of trees, woodland and prairie plants cover the slopes of the stream valley.