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Garza Dam, also known as the Lake Dallas Dam, is now a part of Lewisville Lake, which is owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District.  Its purpose is to control potential flood waters originating within the Elm Fork (Trinity River) drainage basin.  The resulting reservoir also served as the City of Dallas’ primary water supply for about thirty years.  The dam is significant in city history because it successfully met water supply needs for a population that more than doubled between 1920 and 1930.

Named for the village of Garza, Texas, the dam’s five million dollar construction cost was paid through a 1923 bond election. The dam was designed by the Dallas firm of Nagle and Thompson, and the winning bid was awarded to the W. E. Callahan Construction Company of Dallas.  Work commenced in October 1924 and ended in May 1927.  The completed dam was 11,000 feet long and 80 feet high.  At the time of its first operation, it impounded about 63 billion gallons of water. It was extensively documented in written and photographic studies by the Dallas Waterworks.

The collection consists of typescript correspondence relating to the awarding of the contract to construct the dam and work and materials modifications made in the bid specifications process and during actual construction. Accompanying the correspondence are three printed copies of the July 1924, request for proposal and specifications.

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