The Hidden History of Oscarville: The Secret Reason Forsyth County Was Cleansed of Black Residents Years Before Lake Lanier Was Built.
In the early 1900s, Forsyth County, Georgia, was home to a thriving Black community. With nearly 1,100 Black residents, including 58 landowners, the community had established itself as a vibrant and prosperous part of the county.
However, in 1912, two incidents occurred that would change the course of history for Forsyth County and its Black residents forever.
The first incident occurred in late August of that year when the body of 18-year-old Sleety Mae Crow, a White resident, was found in the woods near Oscarville, a predominantly Black community. Several Black residents were named as suspects for the alleged rape and murder, including Ernest Knox and Robert Edwards.
Rumors swirled and were reported in the papers that the Black residents threatened to “dynamite” the town if there were lynchings.
Tensions were already high between the Black and White communities in Forsyth County, and this incident escalated them further. In response, a group of White residents organized a mob and began attacking Black residents throughout the county.
Black homes and businesses were burned to the ground, and many Black residents were beaten and forced to flee their homes.
On September 7th, Sheriff William Reid arrested two Black men concerning the murder of Sleety Mae Crow. However, before being brought to trial, a mob seized Robert Edwards, a 24-year-old farmhand, from the jail. They beat him to death before hanging him from a telephone pole in the town square.
After these incidents, the violence and terror that swept through Forsyth County led every Black person to flee the area. Only 24 of the nearly 40 Black landowners in Forsyth County at the time could sell their land. The other properties have no sale record; some believe White residents took the abandoned land.
But there is another story that goes untold about Forsyth County, one that is hidden beneath the waters of Lake Sidney Lanier. Years later, in the 1950s, plans were made to build a reservoir. The US Army Corps of Engineers began constructing a dam on the Chattahoochee River, creating the massive Lake Sidney Lanier water reservoir for the growing city of Atlanta.
The reservoir would cover 38 square miles and has over 500 miles of shoreline. However, before the lake could be created, the area had to be cleared of all buildings and structures.
As the bulldozers and excavators began their work, they uncovered the long-buried remains of the Black community of Oscarville. Homes, churches, and graves were unearthed, revealing an intentionally erased history.
The discovery of the community of Oscarville and the violent removal of its Black residents from Forsyth County years before Lake Lanier was built sheds light on a dark chapter in Georgia’s history.
The truth about what happened in Forsyth County in 1912 is painful and speaks to the more significant issue of racial cleansing throughout the South during that period.
But the fact that a town like Oscarville is now hidden beneath a recreational lake is a reminder that history is not always what it seems. Some stories go untold, and some tragedies are forgotten.
But the truth remains and should serve as a reminder of the systemic racism and violence that has plagued the country for centuries and the importance of remembering and acknowledging the past to build a better future.
~Dr.Têi•B~