Local mayor hopes to bring tourism to West Tennessee with man-made lake

CARROLL COUNTY, Tenn. — Out of Tennessee’s 95 counties, more than 70 are rural. Sometimes, growing tourism is a struggle for these counties.

One mayor is hoping to change that with his life-long project.

It’s a place to unwind, and a fisherman’s paradise.

“Fishing is pretty good. It’s pretty much got the whole package,” fisherman Daniel Miers said.

But mostly, Huntingdon Mayor Dale Kelley says the Carroll County Thousand Acre Recreation Lake is a landmark in rural Carroll County.

“This is the crown jewel of all West Tennessee, and we are very proud of it,” Mayor Kelley said.

But the sparkling waters weren’t always around. Mayor Kelley says growing up, there was no lake at all.

“I was born down by the lake a little ways a few years back,” Kelley said.

Mayor Kelley says utilizing the land to solve flooding issues in Huntingdon sparked his idea to build the lake.

“To do something about the flooding that was taking place, that was the original idea,” he said.

But fast forward 28 years later, that original idea became a vision.

Mayor Kelley says the lake is now used for recreation, bringing in more visitors.

“The most prideful thing I have about the lake is what it’s doing for our community,” he said.

Kelley says the lake has gained national attention. It’s a host to many events, such as the National Junior Bassmater Fishing Tournament.

“Last year, it drew 33 states plus Canada, and we’re expecting it to bring more boats this year and more fishermen,” he said.

Mayor Kelley says bringing in tourists to a rural county can be a struggle.

“We just don’t have a lot of the advantages of being in and around a big city, so we have to find new and innovative ways in how to promote ourselves,” he said.

But people who live in the area say it’s also an advantage to them.

“This is something Huntingdon never had,” resident Richard Akin said. “If we had something like this when we were kids, it would probably be empty of fish ’cause we would have caught them all.”

Mayor Kelley says a lakefront RV park along with six subdivisions along the lake were constructed.

“We’re hoping to build a hotel conference center in this area, and I have every reason to believe we will get that done,” he said.

Mayor Kelley says it’s a dream that became a reality, but there’s still work to do.

“Perseverance is something I learned along this way. You really got to persevere if you’re going to make good things happen,” he said.

Mayor Kelley says some current projects include building a walking trail and pavilion along the lake.