After I visited Atlanta last week, I wanted to delve into more about Lake Lanier. It has a very interesting story. I have heard many things about the lake. Why some will not go near it and why others love it.
History- The lake is named after Sidney Lanier. He was in the Confederate army, a poet and musician and wrote a poem about the Chattahoochee River called, “Song of the Chattahoochee.” Now Mr. Lanier was from Macon Georgia. The Chattahoochee River is a very well-known river in Georgia. It runs from the Appalachian Mountains and terminates in Lake Seminole, at the Georgia-Florida border.
The Song Of The Chattahoochee
1842 –1881
Out of the hills of Habersham,
Down the valleys of Hall,
I hurry amain to reach the plain,
Run the rapid and leap the fall,
Split at the rock and together again,
Accept my bed, or narrow or wide,
And flee from folly on every side
With a lover’s pain to attain the plain
Far from the hills of Habersham,
Far from the valleys of Hall.
All down the hills of Habersham,
All through the valleys of Hall,
The rushes cried ‘Abide, abide,’
The willful waterweeds held me thrall,
The laving laurel turned my tide,
The ferns and the fondling grass said ‘Stay,’
The dewberry dipped for to work delay,
And the little reeds sighed ‘Abide, abide,
Here in the hills of Habersham,
Here in the valleys of Hall.’
High o’er the hills of Habersham,
Veiling the valleys of Hall,
The hickory told me manifold
Fair tales of shade, the poplar tall
Wrought me her shadowy self to hold,
The chestnut, the oak, the walnut, the pine,
Overleaning, with flickering meaning and sign,
Said, ‘Pass not, so cold, these manifold
Deep shades of the hills of Habersham,
These glades in the valleys of Hall.’
And oft in the hills of Habersham,
And oft in the valleys of Hall,
The white quartz shone, and the smooth brook-stone
Did bar me of passage with friendly brawl,
And many a luminous jewel lone
— Crystals clear or a-cloud with mist,
Ruby, garnet and amethyst —
Made lures with the lights of streaming stone
In the clefts of the hills of Habersham,
In the beds of the valleys of Hall.
But oh, not the hills of Habersham,
And oh, not the valleys of Hall
Avail: I am fain for to water the plain.
Downward the voices of Duty call —
Downward, to toil and be mixed with the main,
The dry fields burn, and the mills are to turn,
And a myriad flowers mortally yearn,
And the lordly main from beyond the plain
Calls o’er the hills of Habersham,
Calls through the valleys of Hall.
In the early 1950’s, the United States Army Corps of Engineers built Buford Dam for purposes that included flood control, power generation, and recreation. It is the primary source of water for Gwinnett County. Total cost to create the lake was about $45 million, including buying 50,000 acres at an average of $50 per acre, beginning in 1948. The government moved 250 families, 20 cemeteries, 15 businesses, and six churches to make room for the lake. Flooded areas included Lake Warner, Chattahoochee Park, and Looper Speedway.
Now what I would like to talk about is that the lake is haunted. There have been so many incidents, accidents, and drownings that this lake must be looked at from a different perspective. As I stated above, many were displaced and though it says that the bodies from the cemeteries were moved we cannot be 100% sure that all the bodies were actually moved.
- Oscarville, Georgia is the name of the city that was submerged. It was at one time a thriving Black community. Oscarville’s Origins:
- During the Reconstruction era in the late 1800s, Oscarville emerged as a vibrant Black community. It boasted skilled carpenters, blacksmiths, and bricklayers, with farming as its primary trade. While the rest of the state faced struggles, Oscarville experienced miraculous agricultural growth 1.
- The Tragic Turn of Events:
- In 1912, tragedy struck when Mae Crow, a 19-year-old white woman, was found dead near Oscarville, presumably after being raped. The response was tragically predictable: blame fell upon the Black community.
- Night riders, fueled by racism, terrorized Oscarville. They attacked the community, burning the church—the heart of the town—where people sought refuge. The destruction was devastating .
- The Submersion of Oscarville:
- In the late 1950s, the Buford Dam was constructed, leading to the formation of Lake Lanier. Oscarville, with its rich history, was submerged beneath the lake’s waters. The town’s legacy, its resilience, and the lives lost during the attack were swallowed by the rising waters
- Haunted Waters:
- Some believe that Lake Lanier is haunted by the ghosts of the displaced people from Oscarville. Their stories linger beneath the surface, a testament to the painful past
This tragic chapter in Georgia’s history reminds us of the importance of acknowledging and preserving the stories of communities like Oscarville, even when they lie hidden beneath the waters of progress.
Blood At The Root: A Racial Cleansing In America, by Patrick Phillips is a book about what happened to Mae Crow and Oscarville.
The lake brings many visitors every year and keeps the surrounding businesses thriving. Just having a boat on the lake generates income for the area. The lake is beautiful and though it has a tragic past it should be kept up for future generations.
I hope you have enjoyed this- it was fun doing the research.
Much love,
Sara & Wes
Resources:
(n.d.). Lake Sidney Lanier. Gwinnett. Retrieved March 17, 2024, from https://www.gwinnettcounty.com/web/gwinnett/aboutgwinnett/fastfacts/lakelanier
Lanier, S. (n.d.). The Song of the Chatahoochee. Poets.org. Retrieved March 17, 2024, from https://poets.org/poem/song-chattahoochee
2. The Former Black Neighborhood of Oscarville, Ga. Is Now Lake Lanier
3. Horror film ‘Lanier’ inspired by true haunting tale of displaced Black …
4. Oscarville: The City Under Lake Lanier
5. Relatives of Oscarville residents speak about Lake Lanier’s dark history