[brajoh81]

Does anyone know what happened to that lake. The map shows a lake is supposed to be there, but there is nothing.

[Synopsis]

It's right here, although it almost looks more like a river than a lake.

lake frances, oklahoma - Google Maps

[brajoh81]

Originally Posted by Synopsis

It's right here, although it almost looks more like a river than a lake.

lake frances, oklahoma - Google Maps

On Web browser and Live Maps are incompatible it shows a lake, like most maps do, but go to bird's eye view and there is nothing, just like when I visited my friend who just moved there and knows nothing about it either.

[Synopsis]

Sure enough, on Bird's Eye view and arial view it looks like it has just dried up. I really don't think it was ever a lake though. It's just a river as far as I can tell. Interesting.

[Crosstimbers Okie]

It hasn't dried up. That is close to the headwaters of the Illinois River.

[sherri Spencer]

The dam broke. Where the dam and lake use to be is all overgrown with vegetation. The Illinois river still flows over the spillway area. It was creepy looking back in the days when the dam was working and extra creepy looking now. I recently drove by again and now it is really impossible to get back to the dam because of big undergrowth. I have heard from locals that people make there way back to the dam and there have been drownings. The drownings occur by people jumping off the concrete spillway into the river. There are undercurrents and holes from years of rushing water. I heard they get sucked in.... The lake back in its hey day was very pretty but became quite algae in its later years. It was a very shallow lake. I heard when the dam broke everyone downstream did not have time to move vehicles etc.

[Kevin Purifoy]

My brother lived in Siloam Springs AR and you could see Lake Francis from his yard. Then one day it wasn't there. Reeally creepy.

I need to clarify. It was a good ways out of Siloam, on the Arkansas side, close enough to the border to see Lk. Francis. I would like to drive up there just to see the spooky remains of the dam.

[Billy Walter Williams]

I lived in Lake Francis Park, which used to have a hotel, large olympic size swimming pool and a golf course. IN the 20's it was a really popular resort area. It was called Forrest Park then. The lake bordered the ARkansas and Oklahoma edge of the Park. I used to boat and fish in the lake in the mid to late 60's. The Illinois River ran thru it and that was the deepest part. You could stand up in the middle of the lake, (in mud). The dam has since broken and only the river is left.

[Kevin Purifoy]

Wow. That would be great if there were any photos left from the hey day of the lake back in the 20's. An earlier comment was made on how spooky the spillway looked before it ever broke. I can imagine a 20's era spillway would look rather goth to begin with.

[Juliehook1]

I worked at Kamp Paddle Trails back in the 60's when Lake Francis was still a lake. I led the camp's 3-day canoe trips down the Illinois River to Talequah. The camp's sailing unit sailed on the lake. I think it was in the late 80's or early 90's that there was a lot of rain, and the dam gave way. It was never repaired. Mrs. Pickle, the owner of the camp, told me that Lake Francis had been a hot spot back in the day, I think it was the 1920's.