Oscarville: A Town Underwater
A thriving community erased by violence and submerged beneath Lake Lanier.
Oscarville was once home to a vibrant Black farming community in Forsyth County, Georgia. In 1912, racial terror drove out nearly all Black residents. Their homes, land, and churches were lost to violence and theft.
Decades later, when Lake Lanier was created, the remains of Oscarville were flooded. Beneath the water lie the traces of a community stolen from history.
To remember Oscarville is to honor the lives built there and confront the truth of how progress often came at the expense of erasure.
Why it matters: Oscarville reminds us that history cannot be erased, even when buried beneath the water.
