Location: In Palo Pinto County, 79 miles southwest of Fort Worth
Size: 2,399 acres
Date Impounded: 1964
Normal Water Clarity: 1-2 feet visibility
Current lake level
Lake Palo Pinto is on Palo Pinto Creek in the Brazos River basin fifteen miles southwest of Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County (at 32°38' N, 98°16' W). Construction of Palo Pinto Creek Dam, an earthfill dam ninety-six feet high designed by Freese, Nichols, and Endress, was started by the Longview Construction Company on March 21, 1963. Water storage began on April 16, 1964, and the dam was completed on November 13, 1965. The project, owned by the Palo Pinto Municipal Water District No. 1, impounds 34,250 acre-feet of water annually primarily for municipal and industrial use. The reservoir has a conservation storage capacity of 42,200 acre-feet and a surface area of 2,661 acres at the spillway crest elevation of 867 feet above mean sea level. The drainage area above the dam is 471 square miles.
PALO PINTO MUSEUM: Located one block south of the courthouse in Palo Pinto (Palo Pinto is 12 miles west of Mineral Wells on Hwy. 180 and is the county seat), this museum features an old jail and log cabin, area history and artifacts. Open weekend afternoons during the summer only.
