Stories of Sacrifice from the Displaced People of the Savannah River Plant

On November 28, 1950, the federal government chose South Carolina No. 5, a 310-square mile area of rural farmland south of Augusta, GA and west of Aiken, SC, to build a nuclear facility, the Savannah River Plant. The plant’s mission was to manufacture the materials, plutonium and tritium, for the hydrogen bomb to go up against the Russians in the Cold War. Six thousand people were displaced – some in as short as six weeks – and the vast majority from families who had lived on the land for generations. This would constitute the nation’s largest use of eminent domain in a time of peace. I have conducted oral histories with more than three dozen of those people, have heard stories of their unparalleled sacrifice. One woman told me, when I asked why they didn’t protest, “We weren’t that kind of people.” All of their stories moved me, but one stood out, shook me to my core. This subject is especially timely, given the 75th anniversary of the announcement is coming up November 2025.