Stonewall Dam is on the West Fork River three miles south of Weston, West Virginia, and seventy-three miles upstream from the river's mouth. The West Fork River flows northward 98.7 miles from its source in Lewis and Upshur Counties to Fairmont, where it joins the Tygart River to form the Monongahela River. The Stonewall Dam project began in 1983 and was completed in 1986, with dedication in 1988. Built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as one of ten reservoir dams in West Virginia, Stonewall is in the Pittsburgh District. Its construction was intended to control downstream flooding. The lake is fed mainly by the West Fork River, with smaller tributaries including Skin Creek and Little Skin Creek. To create the project, the federal government acquired land, sometimes through eminent domain, and many local residents were unhappy with the changes. After operation began, communities such as Weston benefited from reduced flooding, improved water quality for water plants and aquatic life, water storage during drought, and recreational and employment opportunities. The project area totaled 20,451 acres of land and water, including about 19,500 acres of land classified as rural-farm home sites, cropland, pastureland, woodland, and old field. Stonewall is a concrete gravity dam held in place by gravity and abutments cut into the hillside. It is 620 feet wide at the top, 113 feet wide at the base, and its top stands 1,102 feet above sea level. Construction used about 107,000 cubic yards of concrete. Water is released at different rates during the year, with the lake at summer pool from March to July, winter pool from August to February, and full pool at 1,082 feet above sea level, when excess water begins to flow from the uncontrolled spillway. The lake covers about 2,650 acres at summer pool and 3,650 acres at full pool, and the dam's drainage area is 101.8 square miles.