SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE HISTORYALMOST 55 YEARS AGO, surveyors arrived in rural Bedford, Franklin and Pittsylvania Counties to flag 800 above sea level, the point at which Appalachian Power Company would retain the right to flood. Bulldozers followed and carved a ribbon of land 500 miles long which was the stopping point for the impounded waters of the Roanoke River, also named the Staunton River below the point where the Blackwater River flowed into the larger Roanoke.Let me help you find a Lake Retreat and while we're at it we can talk about the history of this "young" lake. One trip to Smith Mountain Lake and you will not want to leave!!! Wil Childress, Broker and Owner of Lake Retreat Properties