Lake Yahou

Lake Yahou is a 13 1/2-acre man-made lake created in 1968 by damming Remount Creek just east of U.S. Highway 431 at the former Fort McClellan Military Reservation east of Anniston. It is accessible from Iron Mountain Road.

The lake's name was chosen by contest. Lieutenant Colonel Francis Sargent won a $25 prize for his suggestion to name it for Yahou-Lakee, a leader of the Koweta group of Lower Creeks who, along with other chiefs, met with James Oglethorpe in May 1733 to negotiate the cession of lands between the Altamaha and Savannah Rivers.

The lake was stocked with bass and bream and used for recreational fishing. The U.S. Army closed Fort McClellan in 1999 and the lake and its surroundings fell under the jurisdiction of the McClellan Development Authority. In 2016 the MDA spent $275,000 to survey the lake, replace a drain pipe, and make repairs to the dam, which required draining the lake. It was restocked in 2019.

In 2021 the Mauthority approved a $65,000 contract with Preston York to construct a 7 1/2-mile network of hiking and mountain bike trails around the lake's basin. Additional work will add a 3-mile trail up Baltzell Mountain.

References

• Tutor, Philip (July 10, 2021) "Lake Yahou to become McClellan’s outdoor centerpiece." Anniston Star