Meyers Mill was an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in southwestern 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 United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The area was originally settled by the Meyer family in the late 19th century. Meyers Mill 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 ...

History

Early history

The settlement of the community grew with the construction of the Atlantic Coast Line around 1900 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 Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and co ...

to Augusta, Georgia. Robins was also taken for the Savannah River Plant. 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 Meyers Mill community is named after the Meyer family. It was an agricultural community. In the early 1940s, a fire destroyed about half of the community. By the early 1950s, Meyers Mill had a population of about 50, about ten residences, three commercial buildings, one church, one cotton gin, and the railroad station. The people were largely African-Americans.

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 ...

. 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 Meyers Mill, Hawthorne, 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.

Geography

Meyers Mill's location was approximately 33.17062 N, 81.597963 W per 1944 GEO-Locate.org overlay map. Meyers Mill's location was approximately 33°10'06" N and 81°35'48" W. It was located north of Meyers Branch at the intersection of the current SRS "9" and the CSX rail line.

Legacy

An annual reunion of former Meyers Mill residents started in 1952, but it is no longer held. In addition, there have been reunions of Four Mile High School, which was the African-American high school east of Dunbarton.

References

*Cassels, Louise, ''The Unexpected Exodus'', Sand Hill Press, Aiken, SC, 1971. : This book is a personal history of the author and her sister during the exodus of Ellenton. *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.

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 of African Americans {{coord, 33, 10, 01, N, 81, 36, 03, W, display=title Geography of Barnwell County, South Carolina Ghost towns in South Carolina Savannah River Site