Lake Hartwell is a man-made reservoir bordering Georgia and South Carolina and encompassing parts of the Savannah, Tugaloo, and Seneca rivers.

[3] The Flood Control Act of May 17, 1950 authorized the Hartwell Dam and Reservoir as the second unit in the comprehensive development of the Savannah River Basin.

In December 2008, due to severe drought in the southeastern United States, the lake dropped to more than 22 feet (6.7 m) below its normal water level.

This revealed old highways that were typically underwater, exposed islands that are usually topped with buoys to warn boaters, and left some boat shells sitting on dry land.

[10] The area around Lake Hartwell has a rich history of indigenous settlement, dating to before the Mississippian culture period, which began about 800 CE.

Initial relations with colonists were through trading, but after the Revolutionary War, European-American settlers increasingly encroached on Cherokee territory.

They have since named many streams, rivers and recreation areas after the historic Cherokee and Muscogee Creek, who were among the Five Civilized Tribes removed from the Southeast under President Andrew Jackson in the 1830s.

Other historic figures who lived around this area were Andrew Pickens and John C. Calhoun, both statesmen from South Carolina.

[4] In August 1956, Eliza Brock and her daughter refused to allow workmen to come on their property to begin clearing for the reservoir area.

Striped bass were eventually introduced to the three lower Savannah River System lakes: Hartwell, Russel, and Thurmond.