Jordan Lake State Recreation Area spans 4,558 acres of woodland along the shores of Jordan Lake in North Carolina, part of a larger reservoir and park system created for flood control, water management, conservation, and public use. The surrounding valley preserves a far older human story, with about 450 prehistoric and historic sites and evidence of more than 10,000 years of settlement, including Native American artifacts, Scottish Highland settlement in the 1740s, and later Revolutionary War and Civil War activity. Authorized in 1963 and begun in 1967, the lake project became B. Everett Jordan Dam and Lake in 1973 and today serves both regional needs and outdoor recreation.