Kelly Barnes Dam was an earthen embankment dam on Toccoa Creek in Stephens County, Georgia, United States, just outside the city of Toccoa. Heavy rainfall caused it to collapse on November 6, 1977, and the resulting flood killed 39 people and caused $2.8 million in damage. The dam was never rebuilt.
View of former reservoir area after the dam failure
View of masonry inlet structures on rear of dam embankment
Looking upstream through dam breach, November 7, 1977
Looking upstream through dam break, November 7, 1977
Stephens County is a county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia, in the Piedmont and near the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is bounded by the Tugaloo River and Lake Hartwell on the east. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,784. The county seat is Toccoa.
Stephens County Courthouse in Toccoa
Alexander Stephens, namesake of Stephens County