It was developed to serve the needs of power utility Duke Energy and public recreational purposes.

Lake Keowee has provided a recreational destination for fishing, boating, swimming, sailing, kayaking and other watersports.

Archeological excavations conducted in advance of the project by the University of South Carolina recovered thousands of artifacts, as well as evidence of human and animal remains.

The Treaty of Dewitt's Corner, signed May 20, 1777, stipulated a new border between the Cherokee and European Americans, defining it as the crest of the Oconee Mountains.

The Cherokee ceded almost all their lands in modern Oconee, Pickens, Anderson, and Greenville counties of South Carolina.

In the treaty of Washington of 1816, the Cherokee sold this remaining strip of land and its hunting grounds to the United States for $5,000; they relocated to points further west and south in Georgia.

Historians have estimated that up to 4,000 of 16,000 Cherokee died from disease, exposure, and starvation on what became known as the Trail of Tears to new lands west of the Mississippi River in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma).

[1] In the mid-1960s, Duke Power executives consulted with state and federal authorities, and searched for a way to supply the growing southeastern region with greater electricity.

On January 2, 1965, Duke Energy president W. B. McGuire held a press conference at Clemson University and announced plans to build a large complex to generate power, called the Keowee-Toxaway project, which would cost an estimated $700 million.

Some areas were dug deeper to increase the future depth of the lake and give it sufficient volume for its cooling purposes.

At the official groundbreaking ceremony in April 1967, a red, white and blue dynamite charge was set off by South Carolina governor Robert McNair.

To cool the nuclear reactors, a structure called the Oconee skimmer wall was built; it separates the plant's inlet canal from the lake itself.

Duke Energy closed the gates of the Keowee dam on April 2, 1970, to begin the final phase of collecting the water, or what engineers refer to as impounding the lake.

[6][citation needed] Duke Energy's Oconee Nuclear Station is about 8 miles (13 km) from both the towns of Salem to the north and Seneca to the south.

In 1996 concerns were raised that Duke and numerous other nuclear utilities around the nation had been using improper methods during the refueling process.

[9] In 2011, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission renewed the site's license for an additional 20 years of service.

[10] Since Duke Energy built the lake and uses it regularly for power generation and cooling, it has considerable authority over its operation.

[11] Duke Energy cooperates with state and federal authorities to manage the area; for example, in the summer of 2011, energy officials conferred with the United States Army Corps of Engineers regarding matters such as lake levels and making changes to nuclear station pumps for added flexibility.

The advocacy group has brought pressure to block proposed developments; for example, developers seeking to build a multi-use facility in 2011, to include a restaurant, store, lodge and fueling station, had to face FOLKS members in a public hearing to hear community input.

[17] The Lake is predominately located in the South Carolina county of Oconee, in the northwestern section of the triangularly-shaped state near the Blue Ridge Mountains range.

The area has attracted real estate developers who have built a wide range of facilities for differing purposes.

[12] One multi-use facility features a large park for dogs, pet-friendly trails, and open space including shoreline.

[34] A developer of a gated community brought in almost 5,000 large one-ton boulders to stabilize muddy banks along a creek feeding into the lake.

[37] The approval process for developers seeking to build on large lots is "comprehensive", according to one report, with permissions needed from not only the Duke officials, but from community residents, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and 14 state and resource agencies as well as the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.