It was created in 1969 and is one of three lakes damming the Brazos River.

Lake Granbury is contained by the De Cordova Bend Dam and is a long, narrow lake, encompassed by 103 miles (221 km) of shoreline.

The lake is controlled by the Brazos River Authority in Granbury.

The proposed construction of the De Cordova Bend Dam in the mid-1950s became the impetus for John Graves' book, Goodbye to a River.

[citation needed] The lake is annually stocked with bass and in past years with catfish.