Dunbarton was a town in Barnwell County,

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, United States. The area was originally settled ''circa'' 1800. Dunbarton grew after a train stop was built on a new rail line. In 1951, it was acquired by the

U.S. Atomic Energy Commission The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by U.S. Congress to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. President ...

as part of a site for the

Savannah River Plant The Savannah River Site (SRS) is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reservation in the United States in the state of South Carolina, located on land in Aiken, Allendale, and Barnwell counties adjacent to the Savannah River, southeast of Augus ...

. The nearest incorporated community is the town of Snelling, to the northeast.

History

Early history

The settlement of the town began with the construction of the Atlantic Coast Line in 1899 from

Denmark, South Carolina Denmark is a city in Bamberg County, South Carolina, United States. The population at the 2010 census is 3,538. Geography Denmark is located in northwest Bamberg County at (33.321173, -81.142289). U.S. Route 78 and U.S. Route 321 cross in Denm ...

, to Robins, South Carolina. Robins was on the railroad from Port Royal to Augusta, Georgia. Robins was in the area taken for the Savannah River Plant. This line of the railroad was later rerouted to the south of Dunbarton. This line is now part of

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

. The old line east of Dunbarton is a spur that now services the Savannah River Site. The town of Dunbarton was incorporated in 1910. Dunbarton is named after the Dunbar family. It was an agricultural, trading, and sawmill town. By the early 1950s, Dunbarton had a population of about 300, about 35 residences, about 15 commercial buildings, one church, two schools including Dunbarton High School, two cotton gins, and the railroad station. Four Mile High School, an African-American high school, was located just outside the town of Dunbarton. It had dormitories so that some students could board during the week.

Exodus

On November 28, 1950, the

and the E. I. du Pont de Nemours Company announced that the

would be built on about 300 sq. mi. of Aiken County, Barnwell County, and

Allendale County Allendale County is a county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,039, making it the least populous county in South Carolina. Its county seat is Allendale. History Allendale County was formed in 191 ...

in South Carolina. The Savannah River Plant was built for the production of

plutonium Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibi ...

and

tritium Tritium ( or , ) or hydrogen-3 (symbol T or H) is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with half-life about 12 years. The nucleus of tritium (t, sometimes called a ''triton'') contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus o ...

for the

H-bomb A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lowe ...

. About 6,000 people and 6,000 graves were to be relocated. This include the incorporated communities of Dunbarton and Ellenton and the unincorporated communities of Hawthorne, Meyers Mill, Robbins, and Leigh. A significant fraction of those removed were

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

farmers and sharecroppers. The government purchased or condemned the property. Many of the residents moved themselves, and in some cases, their homes to Barnwell, Williston,

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

, Beech Island, Aiken,

, and

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

. Some moved out of state. Eventually, nearly all that was left behind was the streets, curbs, driveways, and walkways.

Geography

Dunbarton's location was approximately 33°12'40" N and 81°33' W. It was located at the intersection of South Carolina highways 39 and 64 and the railroad. Highway 64 is now SRS "B." Highway 39 is now SRS "F" north of "B" and "B-6" south of "B."

Legacy

An annual reunion of former Dunbarton residents started in 1952 and continues to this day.

References

*Cassels, Louise, ''The Unexpected Exodus'', University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, SC, 2007, . : This book is a personal history of the author and her sister during the exodus of Ellenton. The 2007 edition is a reprint with a new introduction by Kari Frederickson. *Browder, Tonya A., Brooks, Richard D., and Crass, David C., ''Memories of Home: Dunbarton and Meyers Mill Remembered, Savannah River Archaeological Research Heritage Series, No. 1, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 1993.'' : In the early 1990s, the authors surveyed residents of the former town of Dunbarton and the Meyers Mill communities by questionnaire and interviews. The respondents included whites and African-Americans. This included many former students of the African-American Four Mile High School, which was located outside Dunbarton. The topics covered include agriculture, businesses, local government, religion, education, entertainment, and organization. It also discusses Dunbarton's reunions.

External links

Early history of the Savannah River Plant''Savannah River Site at 50''
- Site selection for the Savannah River Plant from ''Savannah River Site at 50'' and has a section on the exodus {{coord, 33, 11, 46, N, 81, 32, 20, W, type:city_region:US-SC_source:GNIS-enwiki, display=title Geography of Barnwell County, South Carolina Ghost towns in South Carolina Populated places established in 1899 Savannah River Site