Beneath the serene surface of Lake Hartwell, Georgia, lies a ghost town lost to time and legend. Before Lake Hartwell was created in the 1960s, the small town of Andersonville thrived in the lowlands along the Savannah River. But when the Army Corps of Engineers constructed the Hartwell Dam to generate electricity and control flooding, Andersonville’s fate was sealed—the valley filled with water, and the town was submerged, disappearing under the lake’s deep blue waters.

Though Andersonville may be invisible to the naked eye, its story is very much alive, whispered in the tales of locals and curious visitors alike. Some say that parts of the town still exist intact beneath the lake’s depths—buildings, roads, and even a cemetery, untouched by time. There’s an eerie sense that Andersonville isn’t gone but merely hidden, slumbering below, waiting to be rediscovered.

This mystery has led to spine-tingling stories from divers and fishermen who claim they’ve seen remnants of Andersonville far below the water’s surface. Divers have reported spotting old structures, weathered walls, and even a grave marker or two. Some say they’ve felt the strange presence of something—or someone—watching them as they descend near the old town’s site.

Legends of Andersonville have also sparked tales of ghostly apparitions, with locals swearing they’ve seen figures walking along the shoreline or caught glimpses of phantom lights beneath the waves. Is it a trick of the imagination, or do the spirits of Andersonville’s past linger still?

Whether or not you believe in the ghostly legends, one thing’s for sure: Lake Hartwell’s hidden town has a story to tell, and it keeps those who hear it enchanted by the mysteries just below the surface.