Construction of the Milford Dam began July 13, 1962 at mile 8.3 of the Republican River, as a project owned and operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
[3] The dam consists of a rolled earth fill embankment of 15 million cubic yards (11×10^6 m3), with an uncontrolled spillway on the right bank.
(The term "uncontrolled" refers to the lack of spillway gates such as those at Tuttle Creek Lake in Manhattan, Kansas.)
The towns of Alida and Broughton ceased to exist, with houses either moved to other locations, razed, burned, or buried.
Originally a local chiropractor sought to gain permission to develop the grain elevator into a hotel with a restaurant.
Corps of Engineers studies showed that the base of the elevator would not support the structure after the lake inundated it.
The community of Broughton had two railroads that came through the town, the Rock Island from the east and the Union Pacific from the southeast.
The town had a stockyard, grain elevator, post office, school, church, telephone exchange, grocery store, private homes, and a blacksmith’s shop under a large cottonwood tree.
Impoundment of the lake began January 16, 1967 and six months later on July 13, the multipurpose pool elevation of 1,144.4 feet (348.8 m) above mean sea level was reached.
Due to a heavy frost immediately following, the buffalo carcasses were preserved long enough for the flood survivors to eat well until the spring thaw.
Reports were given of entire families being washed away while a few survivors clung to the tops of trees for hours, hoping to be saved.
Due to the swift current, nearby rescuers unable to take action were forced to listen to the child’s cries for 5 hours.
Hours before, a cloudburst had occurred at McCook, Nebraska sending a wall of water down the Republican River.
It reportedly caused the combined total $6,500,000 in flood damages in the Fort Riley and Junction City area.
After the 1951 disaster, the local newspapers were filled with articles requesting the federal government to intercede and build dams along the Republican, Smoky Hill, and Big Blue rivers.
Lakes along the upper and lower Missouri River Basin closed their gates so as not to add to the flooding that was beginning further downstream.
The design of the spillway controls the flow of the water, eventually directing it back into the river channel below the dam.
The continuous rush of water removed tons of soil, numerous trees, and a portion of the 244 Spur Highway.
To prevent future damage during extremely high releases, the river channel was dropped 12 feet (3.7 m) in elevation by excavation.
Areas with an abundance of food (both wildlife and plant life), constant water supply, moderate climate, and diverse topography have been attracting mankind throughout the ages.
The Bogan Site was a small earthlodge village, constructed and inhabited by the Republican River Pawnee Indians.
He misidentified the legal description of the location of the site, leaving it "lost" until 1964 when the Milford Lake Project was underway.