Forty-five miles southeast of Louisville lays Taylorsville Lake in Kentucky. Man-made; the lake has a shoreline of 78 miles consisting of long fingers stretching from Spencer, Nelson, and Anderson county. Known as being the best stocked lake in Kentucky its 3,050 acres of water are home to major fish species such as largemouth bass, hybrid striped bass, white crappie, black crappie, channel catfish, blue catfish, and freshwater drum perch. The old standing timber submerged in the lake from before the valleys were flooded have created an ideal breading ground for the lakes wildlife.
One of the reasons that the lake is such a fishing paradise is that biologists imposed a 15-inch size limit on fish caught in the lake’s waters. This gave time to establish the fish population before extensive fishing took place. Bass, bluegill, catfish, and other varieties are found in abundance. The Salt River underwent an extensive study to find what type of fish populated and thrived in its waters.
In addition to fishing; watersports are abundant on the lake. The large fingers are wide enough to turn around a skier yet the lake is big enough to tube all day without seeing the same scenery. The lake is nestled within large valleys of undeveloped timber which blocks the wind and keeps the waves at bay. Going outside the wake of the boat can only be described as hitting the glass.
The town of Taylorsville was established in 1799 and later was incorporated on January 22, 1829. The town acquired its name from Richard Taylor who gave 60 acres of land towards the towns creation. The town was later named the county seat for Spencer County. Agriculture has dominated both Taylorsville and Spencer County since they have been settled.
15 miles away from Taylorsville was a small unincorporated town called Van Buren. When the United States Army Corps of Engineers started construction on Taylorsville lake in 1974 the whole town was dismantled and moved to higher ground. Most of the houses and the general store were successfully relocated but the Church of Christ became stuck on a muddy hill and was left behind. The Graves from the cemetery were moved to the Valley Cemetery outside of Taylorsville on Mt Washington Road.
By 1983 the Dam was built, Van Buren was disassembled/demolished, and they started to flood the Salt River to form the lake. The total cost of building the lake came in at $103 million. Today the lake serves as a major economic source for spencer county.
