Comments on The Genealogue: Drowned Towns

And how sad for descendants to learn that the old ...

2007-08-23T01:18:00.000-04:00

And how sad for descendants to learn that the old family homestead is underwater and impossible to visit without scuba gear.

This is a fascinating topic, Chris. Thank you for ...

2007-08-22T14:47:00.000-04:00

This is a fascinating topic, Chris. Thank you for writing about it. I just spent over an hour going from one website to another to read about drowned towns in various states.

When I lived in San Francisco in the 1970s, I met someone who grew up in the drowned town of Jacksonville, California. Her childhood house was gone. The schools she attended were gone. Her entire hometown - stores, churches, the homes of friends and neighbors, all gone.

It must be devastating to have to evacuate the town you grew up in and never be able to go back.

Thanks for the link to the transcribed flooded cem...

2007-08-22T00:09:00.000-04:00

Thanks for the link to the transcribed flooded cemeteries, Chris. That Maggie! She's simply everywhere...I've followed her sites for a while, and she must have visited every cemetery in Eastern Washington, which is quite a large area, you know.

Maggie Rail has transcribed a number of those floo...

2007-08-21T12:52:00.000-04:00

Maggie Rail has transcribed a number of those flooded cemeteries.

This reminds me of the scene in Deliverance where a cemetery is being moved in preparation of the flooding of a town. The TVA maintained records of graveyards flooded during their projects.

Here in Eastern Washington we have a number of dro...

2007-08-21T12:35:00.000-04:00

Here in Eastern Washington we have a number of drowned towns (as seen on the list in the link that you gave) due to the building of Grand Coulee Dam. When the water is low, structural foundations can be seen in the shallows. The histories of these towns can be read in local histories, newspapers and magazine articles. I have read a number of them with interest, and find it sad that several cemeteries are located underwater.