Episode 2 – Building the Lake Season 1: Submerged Towns

Beneath Lake Murray lies a story of labor, endurance, and transformation. Episode 2 uncovers how thousands of workers—Black, white, immigrant, and Indigenous—built one of the South’s largest man-made lakes. Through archival footage, oral histories, and expert insight, we reveal the human cost, progress, and memory tied to the creation of the Saluda Dam.

Featuring J.R. Fennell of the Lexington County Museum, Jane Guignard Curry from the Walker Local and Family History Center, and oral histories from Ralph and Herman Wessinger.

🎧 Created, produced, and hosted by Lolita Rowe Original music by Sister Sai Archival audio courtesy of the University of South Carolina Moving Image Research Collections Special thanks to J.R. Fennell, the Lexington County Museum, and the Walker Local and Family History Center at Richland Library Website maintained by Tiffany Messer Bass

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📚 Research & Archives: Gandy Dancers (1994), Folkstreams – folkstreams.net/films/gandy-dancers

Wikipedia – “Gandy Dancer” (Sept 2025) – en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandy_dancer Lake Murray Dam – Outtakes (1929)

Fox Movietone News Collection, USC MIRC https://digital.tcl.sc.edu/digital/collection/MVTN/id/6132/rec/1

Oral History with Jane Guignard Curry – localhistory.richlandlibrary.com/digital/collection/p16817coll19

Ralph & Herman Wessinger Interview (1979), Lexington County Museum

🌊 Sound Credits: Bigvegie, bitlab_coop, visualasylum, kyles, dobroide, Ambient-X (via Freesound.org)

🗓️ Coming Next: The final chapter of Lake Murray explores what lies beneath the water today and the military mysteries that still rest below the surface.

🎧 New episodes drop every Thursday.

Before Lake Murray ever existed, this land was home to thriving communities that would soon face upheaval as the dam project began. In this first episode of our Submerged Towns mini-series, Lolita Rowe is joined by J.R. Fennel to explore the lives, work, and faith that shaped the communities which disappeared beneath the waters of Lake Murray.

✨ Episode Credits

• Host & Producer: Lolita Rowe
• Guest: J.R. Fennel, Director of the Lexington County Museum
• Theme & Original Music: Sister Sai — sistersai.bandcamp.com
• Additional Sound Effects: sourced from Freesound, used under Creative Commons licenses (full attributions below).

🎧 Sound Effect Attributions (Freesound)

• BELLLrg-Samsung Galaxy Smartphone, CU_Cool Spring Baptist Church, Ringing, Pulley Squeaks_TDC — by designerschoice — link — License: Creative Commons 0
• river church bells 8pm 210626_0299.mp3 — by klankbeeld — link — License: Attribution 4.0
• 20171029_calm.morning.wav — by dobroide — link — License: Attribution 4.0
• Gentle Waves - Sand Point Beach At Sunrise 6-20-24 — by Ambient-X — link — License: Attribution 4.0

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A sneak peek at Season One: Submerged Towns, where we uncover the stories of communities lost beneath engineered lakes across the Carolinas.

This episode includes the sound Gentle Waves – Sand Point Beach At Sunrise 6-20-24 by Ambient-X, available on Freesound and licensed under CC BY 4.0.