Buried Beneath the Water: The Tragic History of Oscarville and Lake Lanier
Written by adminVibe on March 22, 2025
(ReggaeVibeMedia.com) – Beneath the waters of Georgia’s Lake Lanier lies Oscarville, a once-thriving Black community that was violently erased in 1912. Following the alleged assault of a white woman, white mobs lynched Black residents and forced over 1,000 others to flee their homes. Decades later, the U.S. government flooded the abandoned land to create Lake Lanier, permanently burying the history of Oscarville. Filmmaker Will Bush-Anderson is now bringing this hidden past to light with his documentary Surviving Lake Lanier, uncovering the dark legacy of racism that led to the town’s destruction.
The Rise and Fall of Oscarville
In the early 1900s, Oscarville, Georgia, was a flourishing Black community filled with hardworking families, skilled laborers, and successful businesses. The residents built homes, churches, and schools, carving out a space for themselves in a racially segregated South. But their progress came to a violent halt in 1912 after the tragic events that unfolded in Forsyth County.
A young white woman named Mae Crow was allegedly assaulted, and suspicion quickly fell on three Black teenagers—Rob Edwards, Ernest Knox, and Oscar Daniel—despite no solid evidence. Before any formal trial could take place, an enraged white mob dragged Rob Edwards from jail, lynched him in broad daylight, and shot him multiple times. The other two young men were later sentenced to death after rushed trials with no fair defense.
What followed was a brutal campaign of racial terror. White supremacist groups known as “Night Riders” went on a rampage, setting fire to Black-owned homes, churches, and businesses. Over 1,000 Black residents were forced to flee for their lives, abandoning the land they had worked so hard to build. Forsyth County became an all-white county, remaining that way for nearly a century.
From Racial Violence to Sunken History
Decades later, in the 1950s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers planned to create a massive reservoir by damming the Chattahoochee River. This new body of water, later named Lake Lanier, submerged entire towns—including the remains of Oscarville. Buildings, roads, and even cemeteries were left beneath the water, erasing a history that many tried to forget.
Today, Lake Lanier is infamous not only for its eerie past but also for its high number of drownings and unexplained accidents. Many locals believe the disturbed spirits of Oscarville haunt the waters, seeking justice for the injustices of the past.
Will Bush-Anderson’s Fight to Tell the Truth
Filmmaker Will Bush-Anderson, known professionally as WEBA, is determined to bring this forgotten history to light. After his horror-thriller Lanier gained traction in 2023, he realized the true story was even more chilling than fiction. His upcoming docuseries, Surviving Lake Lanier, dives deep into the untold stories of Oscarville, the racial violence that wiped it out, and the haunting legacy that remains beneath the water.
Set to premiere on Amazon Prime Video in August 2024, Surviving Lake Lanier aims to educate audiences about the racist past that led to the town’s destruction and give a voice to the generations of Black families who lost everything.
