Townville, South Carolina, might just seem like your normal small town, but just like any other place, it has some buried secrets dating all the way back to the 1800s.
One of those spooky secrets is that Townville was built upon the remains of a forgotten town. In the heart of South Carolina lay the old forgotten town of Andersonville, with its roots reaching back to 1801 and the submerged remnants concealed beneath the tranquil surface of Lake Hartwell. Let’s dive into the submerged history of Andersonville and the eerie yet captivating Cemetery Island that whispers secrets from centuries past.
Andersonville was established at the confluence of the Seneca and Tugaloo Rivers; it was a commerce and textile town in the 19th century. However, a series of setbacks, including floods and railways bypassing, led to many problems, including businesses shutting down and massive floods.
Fast forward to 1955, and the idea of Lake Hartwell emerges, a man-made reservoir spanning sections of the Savannah, Tugaloo, and Seneca Rivers. Sadly, Andersonville was in the path of progress, leading town officials to make the hard decision of up and moving to the valleys above to flood the old town.
As Lake Hartwell expanded, Andersonville was submerged beneath its waters. The remnants of the town found a new home underwater, leaving only a few islands as a visible trace of what once was.
Some of the newly made islands became beautiful forests for camping experiences, yet some, like Cemetery Island, also known as Ghost Island, in Townville, SC, became haunting legends. The island once housed the Harrisburg Plantation cemetery, a final resting place for those in the Harris Family. Established in the late 1700s, the cemetery became an unintended consequence of the Hartwell Dam project.
The Harris family were prominent figures in Andersonville, laid to rest on the highest point of their property. When the dam project commenced in the 1950s, surviving descendants were allegedly informed about relocating the graves to prevent them from being overtaken by the flood tide. However, the graves remained, and by 1962, the cemetery found itself on an island in the newly formed Lake Hartwell.
Local lore weaves stories of occasional appearances by the 59 deceased Harrises buried on their now-shrunken waterfront property. Additionally, the island is said to be haunted by Serril Broin, a supposed specter connected to the Salem Witchcraft Trials, although there is no evidence that she ever existed. While the tales may be mysterious, Cemetery Island is a unique testament to the convergence of history, progress, and the supernatural.
In the serene waters of Lake Hartwell, the submerged town of Andersonville and the spectral echoes of Cemetery Island invite us to explore the depths of a bygone era, where history lies beneath the ripples, waiting to be uncovered.
