On July 27, 2023, a 24-year-old man named Thomas Milner died of possible electrocution after jumping into Georgia’s disgraced Lake Lanier.
A family friend jumped in to save the man, saying that he felt a “burning sensation” in the water. He immediately got out to turn off the power box that brought electricity to the dock for the boat lift and then jumped back into the water, managing to pull the man onto the dock. Unfortunately, Milner died from his injuries the next day.
Number of deaths
If you’re familiar with Lake Lanier, you already know that the reservoir claims the lives of many visitors every summer. Six lives have been lost in 2023 at the lake. According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, 140 died in Lake Lanier between 1994 and 2022.
There are so many deaths that myths have emerged about the body of water, including people believing it is cursed due to the racially charged historical tragedy that occurred before the reservoir was constructed.
Oscarville
Part of that mythology is the history of Oscarville, Ga., a small hamlet about an hour north of Atlanta in Forsyth County. What’s certainly true is that Oscarville was a thriving agricultural town in the late 1800s and early 1900s that used to stand where Lake Lanier is today. What used to be Oscarville was flooded by officials who created the man-made lake, Georgia’s largest, to create a source of hydroelectric power for the Atlanta area, although the lake is now one of the more popular recreational bodies of water in the state.
What’s less clear is about the why Oscarville was vacated and flooded and Lake Lanier was essentially dropped on top of it.
In 1912, a white woman named Mae Crow was found dead and presumed raped in the woods near Oscarville, which prompted swarms of white people to travel to the town, after they accused three Black men Rob Edwards, Ernest Knox, and Oscar Daniel. Edwards was lynched and Knox and Daniel were executed after a jury trial. White people harassed and killed the Oscarville residents and burned down the local church where people were taking refuge. 1,000 surviving residents fled to nearby cities.
After Oscarville
By the 1950s the Buford Dam was built and then the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed Lake Lanier shortly after, swallowing Oscarville. But local historians dispute the connection between Lake Lanier’s creation and the racial strife in Oscarville from the early 1900s, according to the Washington Post:
There is a longstanding myth that the body of water was created to flood a predominantly Black town in Forsyth named Oscarville, but the Atlanta History Center contends that the characterization of Oscarville as an all-Black town obliterated by floodwaters isn’t accurate. The center says that although there was an exodus of Black residents from Oscarville and other areas of Forsyth County at the start of the 20th century, Oscarville was a predominately White town.
Additionally, Oscarville was emptied before the Industrial Bureau and the Chamber of Commerce met in April 1947 to move forward with building the Buford Dam, which would pool water to form the lake.
Today Lake Lanier is an important body of water, providing a source of drinking water for almost 5 million people. But it’s mythology, and deadly record of strange accidents, endures.
Petition to shut down recreational activity
In May 2023, fashion designer Tameka Foster and the ex-wife of Usher started a petition to close Lake Lanier until safety measures are implemented. In July 2012, her 11-year-old son Kile Glover lost his life while tubing on the lake. She has since gathered over 5,000 signatures from people who also want to drain, clean, and restore the lake for the safety of future visitors.