Speaker 1: All right, it is time for the way Black History Fact.
Speaker 1: In today's way Black History Fact is sponsored by Underground
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Speaker 1: today we are going to be sharing from more black threads,
Speaker 1: more spelled mor and follow me. Did you know that
Speaker 1: there are many Black towns buried beneath lakes? Here are
Speaker 1: eight Black towns hidden under lakes and from the history books. Birmingham, Kentucky,
Speaker 1: Kentucky Lake. By nineteen twenty nine, approximately six hundred residents
Speaker 1: called Birmingham, Kentucky home. The black community was self sufficient
Speaker 1: with two schools, two hotels, four dry goods, multiple general stores,
Speaker 1: two wagon and blacksmiths shops, five churches, three grocers, two
Speaker 1: military shops, and a drug store. All of this is
Speaker 1: now beneath the Kentucky Lake. When the lake is low,
Speaker 1: the streets of Birmingham sometimes become visible. Benson, Alabama, Lake Martin.
Speaker 1: Thanks to mister John Benson purchasing thousands of acres of
Speaker 1: land and settling them to black families, a town was born.
Speaker 1: The black community has had its own brickyard, sawmill, cotton
Speaker 1: gen schools, homes, built its own railroad, and had multiple businesses.
Speaker 1: The town also produced corn, cotton, sugar, and wood. It
Speaker 1: would be flooded to form Lake Martin, one of the
Speaker 1: largest lakes ever made. Many enjoy this and live on
Speaker 1: this destination, not knowing that a secret black town lives
Speaker 1: beneath it. Oscarville, Georgia, Lake Lanier, the black town of Oscarville, Georgia,
Speaker 1: sits beneath Lake Laneer. Oscarville was full of black homes, businesses,
Speaker 1: and cohesiveness. After a racial assault on them, many were
Speaker 1: dead and about a thousand black people fled the town
Speaker 1: in fear. After the black families were forced out of
Speaker 1: their homes and chased off, Lake Lanier was built on top.
Speaker 1: Lake Lanier is now a popular weekend destination known for fishing, boating,
Speaker 1: and so much more, including an eerie reputation for being haunted. Ferguson,
Speaker 1: South Carolina. Lake Marion, Ferguson, South Carolina, was a majority
Speaker 1: black town. At one point, our ancestors managed to build
Speaker 1: black homes, businesses, a church, lumber mill, grocery stores, and
Speaker 1: a school for themselves purposely flooded to create Lake Marion,
Speaker 1: the largest lake in South Carolina. It stretches nearly one
Speaker 1: hundred and ten thousand acres of rolling farmlands, former marshes,
Speaker 1: and river valley landscape. Even many fish here, but few
Speaker 1: are aware of what lies beneath it. It is the
Speaker 1: black town of Ferguson, South Carolina. Right Susannah, Alabama. Lake Martin, Susannah,
Speaker 1: Alabama was one of the earliest settlements in Tallapoosa County, Alabama.
Speaker 1: It was small and a farming community with its own bank,
Speaker 1: its own gold mine, a school, post office, too, mercantile,
Speaker 1: a grist mill, flour mills, sawmill, blacksmithshop, a church, and
Speaker 1: multiple businesses. There are many homes and businesses here, but
Speaker 1: many are unaware. It is one of the towns that
Speaker 1: sit under Lake martin Little Egypt, North Carolina. Bellow's Lake
Speaker 1: Little Egypt was a self sufficient black area of families
Speaker 1: and businesses as well as homes. Ancestors here made a
Speaker 1: home for themselves until the formation of Lake Loose. This
Speaker 1: man made lake was built in nineteen seventy three. It
Speaker 1: has eighty eight miles of shoreline covers three thousand, eight
Speaker 1: hundred and sixty three acres. It is a lake now
Speaker 1: that many camp live on and visit by the thousands.
Speaker 1: Many are unaware it was built over a black settlement.
Speaker 1: Had it not been for a few remaining living descendants,
Speaker 1: this one would go truly unknown. And Fonta Flora, North Carolina.
Speaker 1: Lake James, Fonta Flora, North Carolina, was another Black town
Speaker 1: in North Carolina. While the population was a small one
Speaker 1: of sharecropping and farming families, our ancestors did well here
Speaker 1: on their own. Many of these people would be displaced
Speaker 1: when the village was flooded to create Lake James in
Speaker 1: nineteen sixteen. There are a few descendants left, but they
Speaker 1: never were given a dime. They migrated to parts of
Speaker 1: Asheville and other nearby towns. There is, however, a white
Speaker 1: owned brewery in nearby Morgantown, North Carolina, that has named
Speaker 1: their business after the area that many were even unaware existed.
Speaker 1: And I don't have time, but be sure to check
Speaker 1: out Long Island, North Carolina, Lake Norman because that is
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