Most People Have No Idea There’s An Underwater Ghost Town Hiding In West Virginia

Summersville Lake is a popular attraction in Nicholas County, West Virginia, but few people know that there was once a town where the water is now.

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Summersville Lake is a man-made reservoir. Flickr/Richard Freeman It was constructed between 1960 and 1966 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, in order to control flooding in the area. The lake is a popular recreation area. Flickr/John Activities on the lake include swimming, fishing, boating, snorkeling, and scuba diving. The lake holds a hidden history under its surface. Flickr/Random Michelle From the 1800s to 1960, the village of Gad existed where Summersville Lake is now. Youtube/TheSCTVguy It was a farming community that many families called home. Youtube/TheSCTVguy A general store was central to the town, and was also the site of a post office. Youtube/TheSCTVguy There was even a small school. Youtube/TheSCTVguy The whole town was sold to build the dam, and residents were forced to move away. Youtube/TheSCTVguy Typically, dams are named after the nearest town when they are built, but rather than use the name "Gad Dam," the US Army Corps of Engineers decided to use the name of the next nearest town, Summersville.

Occasionally Summersville Lake is drained for repairs, and you can still see parts of the roadway, foundations, and carvings in the rock from Gad’s former residents. Although those who lived there miss their old town, the dam has saved the area from an estimated $407,400,000 in flood damages.

Here’s a video with more pictures and history of Gad by YouTube user TheSCTVguy.

If you’d like to learn more about West Virginia’s forgotten history, take a look at this beautiful ghost town.