Hume Lake

Hume Lake is a reservoir in the Sierra Nevada, within Sequoia National Forest and Fresno County, central California.

It is accessible from California Route 180, via Forest Service road 30, and is about 51 miles (82 km) east of Fresno, not far from the west entrance to Kings Canyon National Park.

The 87-acre (35 ha) lake lies behind the world's first concrete reinforced multiple arch dam, designed by John S. Eastwood and constructed in 1908 by the Hume-Bennett Lumber Company.

The dam is founded on granite bedrock and consists of twelve 50-foot-wide (15 m) arches, which are supported by intervening buttresses on the downstream side.

[6] The height was set at 61 feet (19 m) because of a tract of land not owned by Hume-Bennet along the reservoir's edge that would have been inundated by water if the dam had been built any higher.

[5] Hume-Bennett thoroughly harvested the forests surrounding Hume Lake following completion of the dam, but paltry profits and a devastating fire in 1917 led to the end of logging operations.

The board of Hume Lake Christian Camps approached the California Fish and Game Department suggesting the dam be resurfaced.

[9] Since its purchase by the Forest Service, Hume Lake has become a popular destination, providing a variety of recreational opportunities:

Dam impounding the waters of Hume Lake, illustrating the unique multiple arch construction designed by John S. Eastwood.
Another view of Hume Lake dam, displaying its reinforced concrete 50-foot (15 m)-span arches resting on inclined vertical buttresses. The Hume-Bennett mill once stood at this location beside the dam, directly in front of where this photograph was taken.
1940s conference postcard