Stony River Reservoir is a piece of West Virginia industrial history: a reservoir built in 1888 on the Stony River in Grant County to supply water for a paper-and-pulp mill, and later drained when its aging dam was breached. Today the site is a free-flowing river again rather than a lake — but its story is worth telling. This guide is part of our growing West Virginia Lakes Database.
Stony River Reservoir at a glance
- Location: on the Stony River, Grant County, in the eastern West Virginia highlands
- Built: 1888, by the paper company later known as Westvaco
- Built for: industrial water supply for a pulp mill (not recreation)
- Status today: drained — the center of the dam was demolished and the river now flows freely
- Nearby living water: the 1,200-acre Mount Storm Lake, on the same river system
Built to serve a paper mill
The reservoir was created in 1888 by the company later known as Westvaco to store water for its main pulp mill — a common arrangement in an era when mills depended on a steady, controllable water supply. The lake became a fixture of the upper Stony River country, and William Luke, the paper-industry figure behind the company, even kept a summer residence on its shores.
Why the reservoir was drained
Over the decades the dam suffered ongoing structural problems and had to be drained periodically for maintenance. Eventually the center section of the dam was demolished and the reservoir was drained for good. Portions of the old dam still stand on either bank, framing what is once again a free-flowing stretch of the Stony River rather than a lake.
What is there today
Because the reservoir no longer holds water, there is no fishing lake, boat ramp or recreation area at the old Stony River Reservoir site itself — it is of interest mainly for its history and for the remnants of the 19th-century dam. Anglers and boaters looking for open water in the same corner of the state head instead to Mount Storm Lake, a 1,200-acre power-plant reservoir on the Stony River that stays warm year-round and is popular for fishing, boating and even scuba diving.
Frequently asked questions
Does Stony River Reservoir still exist?
No — the reservoir was drained after the center of its dam was demolished. The Stony River now flows freely through the site, with parts of the old dam still standing on either side.
When and why was Stony River Reservoir built?
It was built in 1888 by the Westvaco paper company to supply water for its pulp mill; it was an industrial reservoir rather than a recreation lake.
Where can you fish or boat nearby?
Mount Storm Lake, a 1,200-acre reservoir on the same Stony River, is the popular public lake in the area for fishing, boating and scuba diving.
Related: explore the smaller lakes of West Virginia, or return to the West Virginia Lakes Database.
Explore more West Virginia lakes: the largest lakes in West Virginia and the deepest lakes in West Virginia.