The dam was completed in the fall of 1929 just before the stock market crash that ushered in the Great Depression.

The legend of Princess Lotawana tells of her life in the Catskill Mountains of New York.

This band of irregulars conducted raids against Union Army units and pro-Union and Abolitionist residents of Missouri and Kansas.

There are accounts that they engaged in the Battle of Quantrill's Cove on August 13, 1862, where they defeated a Union Cavalry force under Major Emory L. Foster.

This battle was supposed to have taken place near present-day Quantrill's Cove, near the west end of the lake.

11 by Union Brigadier General Thomas C. Ewing, garrisoned in present-day Kansas City.

This order resulted in the forced relocation of all Confederate sympathizers in four counties, including the area of present-day Lake Lotawana.

It was meant to clear the counties of a civilian support structure, and resulted in much property loss by the residents of the area.

Most homes were burnt to the ground and people had to leave with little more than the clothes on their backs and what they could load into a wagon.

The band of Quantrill's Raiders continued their efforts to harass the Union forces after the order was implemented.

There were rumors that stolen property from the raid on Lawrence was buried by Quantrill's men in or near the Sni-a-Bar creek valley that later became Lake Lotawana.

Sni-A-Bar creek remained a heavily timbered valley, not as suitable for crops or livestock.

Most famously, the Baptist Minister Joab Powell of the Union Church (near the modern day intersection of 7 and 50 highways) would hold revivals in what is now called Waterfall Cove.

Milton Thompson purchased much of the land, employing Oliver Sheley to survey the lake.

Originally, the lake had locked gates, with guards stationed to check for passes.

Many of the original homes were cabins, made of logs, meant for summer vacation dwellings only.

The dam required many repairs and upgrades through the 1930s and 1940s, including the first WPA project in Jackson County, Missouri.

Early organization of the area was managed by the Lake Lotawana Development Company.