It was authorized and awaiting construction during the Great Flood of 1951 which inundated downtown Burlington and Strawn where some locations had floodwater 30 feet (9.1 m) deep.

In 1958, Congress renamed the project John Redmond Dam and Reservoir in honor of the late John Redmond, the publisher of the Burlington Daily Republican who had been a long-time advocate for flood control and water conservation along the Neosho River.

[7] The design and construction of the project was conducted by the Tulsa District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at a total cost of $29,264,000.

The dam began to undergo construction on June 18, 1959 and went into service on November 17, 1964, several weeks before final completion, in order to protect the Neosho River valley from the expected winter and spring floods.

The largest, Burlington, lies roughly 2 miles (3.2 km) southeast of the dam on the Neosho River.

[4] A 664-foot (202 m) section of the dam at its northeast end is a concrete spillway that empties into the Neosho River channel.

Additional outlet works include two 24-inch (61 cm) low-flow pipes with a capacity of 130 cubic feet per second (3.7 m3/s) at the spillway crest.

[15] John Redmond Reservoir serves as a reserve water supply for the Wolf Creek Generating Station located 5 miles (8.0 km) east.

During construction of the facility, a second reservoir, Coffey County Lake, was created to serve as a water source so a cooling tower would not be required.

Lastly, the Corps manages the Hickory Creek trail on the reservoir's north shore.

[12] Hunting is allowed, with restrictions, on the public land around the reservoir including in the Flint Hills Refuge.

[17] Fish species resident in the reservoir include channel and flathead catfish, crappie, walleye, and white bass.

[3] Game animals living on land around the reservoir include bobwhite quail, cottontail rabbits, mourning doves, prairie chickens, squirrels, turkeys, and whitetail deer.