Civil Municipal - Oct 2023

184 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 10 Tourism is key Much of the county’s tourism activity is centered on West Point Lake, a man-made reservoir built in the early 1960s on the Chattahoochee River, downstream of the West Point Dam, whose purposes were to provide flood control, hydroelectric power, and water storage to aid the navigation of the lower Chattahoochee. Maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, today, West Point Lake is home to 35 recreation areas, including parks, campgrounds, and trails, and offers the angler an abundance of bass, catfish, crappie, and bream within its 40-plus square miles of open water. Another major tourist attraction is Callaway Gardens, a 2,500-acre complex near Pine Mountain in neighboring Harris County, but just 18 miles southeast of LaGrange. Home to the world’s largest azalea garden, the destination draws over 750,000 visitors annually. Callaway Gardens was conceived by textile magnate Cason Callaway and his wife Virginia during the Great Depression of