Archaeologists have explored the remains of 450 prehistoric and historic sites in the area and have uncovered many Native American artifacts.
The area was first explored by Europeans in 1701, and by 1810 a network of farms dotted the valley linked to Pittsboro, North Carolina, the county seat.
It became a logging center in the early 1900s as railroads such as the New Hope Valley Railway pushed through the area.
Following a disastrous hurricane which struck the Cape Fear River Basin in 1945, Congress directed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to undertake a comprehensive study of water resource needs in the area.
In 1973, the name of the project was changed to B. Everett Jordan Lake in honor of the former senator from North Carolina.