In the famous movie “Oh Brother Where out Thou?” there is a scene towards the end where a community was engulfed with water to make way for a reservoir. George Clooney and others floated away, and the movie ended with laughs. This movie was fiction, but the flooding and burying towns under water was something that happened with growth and progress in the 20th century.
Case in point:
Somerset, Indiana flooded by the Mississinewa Reservoir
Oakland Mill, Maryland flooded by the Liberty Reservoir
Vantage, Washington flooded by the Wanapum Dam
There is the town of Ashokan, New York, flooded by the Ashokan Reservoir and made famous by Jay Ungar and Molly Mason in the song Ashokan Farwell.
And right up the road from Augusta are the remains of Petersburg under Clarks Hill Reservoir.
Believe it or not, Petersburg was once Georgia’s third largest town. It was a frontier community at the fork of two rivers: the Broad and the Savannah. In the days when roads were scarce, travel over water was essential. Being at the junction of two rivers put this town in an ideal location for travel and trade.
In the late 1700s, this area was agricultural and produced mainly tobacco. And an entrepreneur named Dionysius Oliver set up warehouses at this location to store tobacco for shipping. Of course, Oliver did very well, and the town was named Petersburg for the place of his birth in Virginia.
Soon, the town was divided into lots, and the population began to grow. In the early 1800s a population of about 750 would have seemed very large, even swelling as they say. Before long, there was a post office, newspaper, mercantile shops, a town hall, taverns and even a jail.
In this early period of American history, flat-bottomed boats, known as Petersburg boats were used to ship tobacco on the Savannah River. Today, to the delight of many, reproductions of these boats are used for trips up the canal by the Augusta Canal National Heritage Area staff.
But what happened to Petersburg? If it had been of any size or population in the late 1940s, when the proposed Clarks Hill Reservoir was being planned, surely another location would have been sought. Why didn’t Petersburg become the city of growth instead of Augusta, just down stream?
From records, it is known that land values dropped considerably during the 1820s, and people were seeking their fortunes in the westward expansion. “Go west young man, go west!” There was also disease from mosquitoes such as yellow fever, which plagued the area. But again, this would have also been happening in Augusta, down river. Yet, Augusta survived, and Petersburg died.
It is speculated that the change in agricultural focus, from tobacco to cotton, was the death knell for Petersburg. Also, Augusta had a railroad running right through town, and once railroads came into being, a much faster and more efficient means of transportation had developed.
Gone were the days of having a crew of men push and pull a boat up stream. Now, with the railroad, goods could be packed in numerous cars and shipped to Savannah and other locations where the world awaited. There was no need to go to Petersburg anymore.
So, in the early 1950s, as the water rose in the newly created Clarks Hill Reservoir, Petersburg took its last gasp. Like arms reaching upward for air, the chimneys were the last to disappear. And then, with a whirlpool of water, they were gone too.
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