Sheldon Lake is a reservoir on Carpenters Bayou in the San Jacinto River basin, 16 miles (26 km) northeast of downtown Houston, Texas. The reservoir was created in 1943 when the federal government built a dam to provide fresh water for shipbuilding and shipping industries on the Houston Ship Channel during World War II. After the war, management of the reservoir was assumed by the City of Houston. In 1952, after the construction of the dam that creates Lake Houston, the city sold the reservoir to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for use as a waterfowl sanctuary and public fishing site.