The Underwater Ghost Town Beneath Clarks Hill Lake in Georgia

Lake Strom Thurmond, also known as Clarks Hill Lake, is a stunning body of water along the border of Georgia and South Carolina. It's a popular area for summer recreation, especially for fishing. Bass, sunfish, and other species frequent the waters here. But long before fish began to live and thrive in this beautiful lake, people lived, worked, raised their families, and fell in love on the land that is now beneath these choppy waters. Let's take a look at the underwater ghost town in Georgia hiding beneath the surface of Clarks Hill Lake.

The History Of Petersburg, Georgia

Petersburg, Georgia, was once an important upriver market town located in Wilkes County. It was right along the Savannah River, which forms a natural border between Georgia and South Carolina. The city was founded by Dionysius Oliver, a Revolutionary War veteran, in 1786 to better serve the Broad River Valley area through commerce. It gained importance in the tobacco industry and also served as a source for fresh produce.

In terms of size, Petersburg quickly became the third-largest city in what is now the Peach State, after Savannah and Augusta. By 1800, approximately 750 people lived here. With its prime location at the fork of the Savannah and Broad Rivers, Petersburg had a reputation for being an active, busy little commercial town, home to around a dozen stores, with grog shops (saloons) and a billiards room. It even had a post office, a town hall, a jail, horse stables, schools, a church, and, of course, tobacco warehouses. Its notable citizens had a reputation of being refined, respectable, intelligent, and hospitable. In an early travel guide published in 1801, the town was favorably characterized as beautiful and well-built.

However, things eventually changed after its boom between 1790 and 1810 — Petersburg's heyday and future were in jeopardy, and it became a lost town in Georgia. Right when the town was reaching its peak, the tobacco industry succumbed to the growing behemoth of the cotton industry. Heavily dependent on the tobacco industry, it couldn't switch to cotton, then known as "white gold," quickly enough to keep up with the economic changes. Many residents left the town by the 1820s as the tobacco industry began to slow down. The town was abandoned and eventually flooded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to form Clarks Hill Lake.

It was in the 1950s that the Army Corps of Engineers flooded over 72,000 acres to create the reservoir on what had been one of the historic towns in Georgia. What's most fascinating about what is now Clarks Hill Lake is that it covers what was once a rich and respectable historic community. Once a thriving town, Petersburg is now underwater in Georgia, lying beneath the lake's surface. Needless to say, the Lake Strom Thurmond history is fascinating!

What Remains Beneath Clarks Hill Lake

Before the flooding, more than 50 graves and tombstones from Petersburg's two cemeteries were moved to nearby churchyards. Those were the only graves found at the time, so any others were left behind to be covered by water. In 2002, the region experienced a severe drought, and water levels were lowered by almost 15 feet. The underwater ghost town of Petersburg was once more exposed.

Foundations, fences, old roads, pottery, broken glass, rusty spikes, and iron were all visible. It was the first time in many years that anyone really had a chance to glimpse into the life of a town that had thrived several centuries ago. So, it's almost unbelievable that Petersburg, Georgia, once a city of prominence, is now underwater.

How to Visit the Area Today

To visit the 71,100-acre Clarks Hill Lake, visit the 665-acre Bobby Brown Park, which sits on its shores in Elbert County, Georgia. The park offers a peaceful, scenic destination for outdoor recreation, including hiking, boating, fishing, and camping. If you're interested in seeing some of the remaining bits of the town, try visiting Bobby Brown Park during a drought. If it's a bit of a trek, you can make a weekend of it and stay at a charming cottage in Elberton.

Did you know about this town under Clarks Hill Lake in Georgia? Who knew that remnants of Petersburg were right beneath the lake's surface? For more history, take a road trip to several abandoned places in Georgia.