Lake Murray is affectionately known as the sparkling gem of the Midlands. Aside from attracting water lovers, boat enthusiasts and avid fishers, Lake Murray is also valued for the history she keeps beneath her murky waters.

Lakebeds there serve as the final resting place for many early Lexington lives.

Ranging in size, these cemeteries date back to the 18th century. Some of them have been spotted when lake levels drop during the winter months, such as the Lowman Family Cemetery on the Lexington side of the lake and near Dreher Island.

According to Lexington County Museum Director JR Fennell, over 100,000 acres of rural but communally established land were purchased by the predecessor of South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (a wholly owned subsidiary of Dominion Energy), Lexington Water Power Company. The purchase happened in 1927, and it served what is now the bottom of the lake.

“Due to the purchase, over 5,000 families were displaced from their farm and family land,” Fennell said. “These families were not given a choice in the matter but were compensated for the land that they were giving up to the power company. Families were paid anywhere from $13 to $15 an acre, which equates to about $242 and $280 an acre in today’s economy.”

The landscape of Lexington changed forever as many distinct communities were lost as Lake Murray was created. According to Lake Murray Country, nearly a dozen different closely knit communities were displaced, such as Derrick, Pine Ridge, Lorick’s Ferry, Selwood, Wessinger, Cantsville, Leaphart, Savilla, Boyleston, Lorena and Holly’s Ferry. The orders to move were emotional as the families faced tough decisions regarding the plans for the remains of their buried loved ones.

According to early Lake Murray Cemetery records at the Lexington County Museum, the Lexington Water Power Company contacted the deceased’s next of kin and sought out their wishes before the flooding began. The records indicate that families were given the choice by the power company to have their deceased relatives relocated to a nearby cemetery of their choice. Otherwise, the graves would be flooded, and a memorial would be placed at a local church that the family was tied to.

According to Lake Murray Country, nearly 2,323 graves were removed and relocated before the land was flooded. While there is no documented total of graves resting under the waters of Lake Murray, records show that 193 graveyards remain there. These flooded gravesites range in size, from established church cemeteries to family cemeteries to burial plots on family land to many unmarked graves. As the Lexington Water Power Company promised the displaced families, memorial monuments were placed and can be found at seven local churches in the area, including St. Stephen's Lutheran Church in downtown Lexington.

These monuments were placed around the same time the dam was built in preparation for Lake Murray.

Each memorial has the names of the deceased who were tied to that specific church etched on the backside of the stone. Drew Welch, a member of the cemetery committee at St. Stephen's Lutheran, shared the importance of the memorials placed by the Lexington Water Power Company.

“These memorials ensure that the lives of early Lexington citizens aren’t forgotten,” Welch said. “Their lives matter, and if the memorial wasn’t there, they could be forgotten. If you cover up the grave, the memorial could very well be the only record of someone’s existence.”

The memorial stones also serve as an acknowledgement of Lexington’s past and the many sacrifices that were made for Lake Murray to become what it is today.

“The memorials are so important historically and culturally,” Welch said. “Not only will the lives of these flooded gravesites never be forgotten, but early Lexington will be remembered for generations to come.”

A few other standing structures remain under Lake Murray, such as Wyse Ferry Bridge, built in 1911, a stone house built in the 1800s that was believed to be a canal keeper's house, and other various remains of school buildings and churches.