Smith Mountain Lake - Underwater town - Fact or Fiction?

[human chum]

I just dove SML for the first time yesterday. To say the least, it gets uncomfortable quickly. I have the pre-flood aerial map that was mentioned earlier. I bought it from parkside marina right on the lake. It shows all sorts of pre-existing structures and the current waterline, with 20' elevation reliefs. When we (me and my dive buddy, Kris) first jumped in, we were excited, because from the surface, we could still see our fin tips while looking down. The excitement faded after descending 10 feet. Vis quickly went to about 1 foot and very little light gets through down at only 20 feet. The only way we could actually do a dive without freaking out was to lock arms and keep both LED lights on high. We made it down to 27' and it was like a night dive, but with 1 foot vis. We basicly just crawled along the bottom, shining ahead, as one after another ominous shadow turned into another upturned root ball from fallen trees.
After spending about 25 minutes down there, we surfaced for a smoke and a beverage, then decided to do some treasure hunting under the docks.
We took a heading, and went down to the bottom in 10 feet of water, then practiced blind navigation to the docks lining the shore. We would surface after every fifth dock or so and put all the "treasure" we found on the boat. "Treasure" is used loosely... Old zebco rods and reels, old lures, junk knives that would make great prision shivs, old bottles and pull tab budweiser cans. With the silted bottom, one may actually find things worth keeping if he/she had a metal detector.
With bellies now rumbling, and a dryness in my throat that could only be quenched by a beer, we set out for lake side food. We happened upon Portside Grill and Bar. Had a great burger and 2 cold beers with 2 hot bartenders. Thanks Nikki and Meghan!
After paying the bill, Nikki said, "I think those people lost something". Looking across the pier, we saw a pontoon boat full of people and 2 guys repeatedly going down with no mask or fins only to come up 5 seconds later and shake their heads to each other.
I yelled, "Lost something?"
"Yeah, My I-phone"
"If you really want it, I'll go get it", i replied.
"You got a mask?"
"Um, Yeah. Be right back"
So I go to the boat and suit up, swim the 50 yards to his boat, and ask where it went in at. He pointed just off the bow and said, "My boy thought it'd be funny to throw it in right there."
Down i go... 9 feet to the bottom. about 18 inches of visibility down there. I start a search pattern in the dinginess. about 10 minutes go by and I've found nothing. I come up for a look around, to make sure I haven't wandered too far, and I'm 10 feet off the bow, and 5 feet off starboard side. not too bad for nearly zero vis.
My dive buddy is now standing on the dock, and says that he's been watching my bubble trail. He tells me a spot that i missed, so i go back down. After another two minutes, JACKPOT! Back to the surface and, "I found your I-phone"
"Ha!" he said, "That's not mine."
"Really?"
"Really..."
Back down under the direction of Kris again, and two minutes later, inside the lip of an old tire rim, another I-phone appears! Back to the surface, and i give his phone back to him, and tell him i have another for sale :cool2:.
He thanks me, everyone else on the boat applauds along with all the people sitting outside the bar, and his wife takes my pic for facebook she said. Back to the boat, and "dis-robed" again, Kris walks up and hands me $40 that the guy said I deserved.
To sum it up, It was horrible diving conditions, but we were so excited to be in the water after six months of no time to dive, we made the best of it. I'd definitely do it again, and slowly work up the nerve to go deeper.
The advice earlier in the thread to treat it like a tech dive is probably spot on. It's surely no walk in the park if you want to go deep, but there are some relatively safe adventures to be had there, and it's a good place to practice nav. and search and recovery skills in some very challenging conditions.

 

[Jackson1]

I am new here, obviously. I went to SML for a weekend get-away last weekend and my uncle who's friend owns a home on the lake filled him in on the story of the town. Not even as much info than what you guys have up here was passed on to me. I quickly became enthralled! So once I got home I stumble upon this site! Tons of good info. I'm not a diver, and frankly, not a great fisherman, just enough to keep me busy for hours! So I'm still curious if any more info has been found? I'd love to go back down there at some point, it's a beautiful area! I'm planning on looking for the books on this subject as well. Thank you in advance!

 

[randy88k5]

I plan on doing some exploration when I get a little free time. I just moved into the area and things are a little hectic for me right now. I'll post my findings here if anyone is interested.

 

[wfopig]

any new info on this I live about 30 miles from sml it would be cool to check it out

 

[beckiabrisz]

It is absolutely a true story. Look here: Lynchburg Living : Lynchburg Virginia's Premiere Lifestyle & Entertainment Magazine focusing on local area Business, Entertainment, Arts, Culture and Events From Land to Lake: A Look Back at the Early Years of Smith Mountain Lake » Lynchburg Liv

Pretty interesting story.

"In the years since Smith Mountain Lake was built, rumors have circulated about “underwater towns,” particularly one called Monroe. The writings of Pittsylvania County historian Herman Melton indicate Monroe was likely located near current-day Vista Pointe Resort in Penhook.Monroe was founded in 1818 by Abner Anthony, whose family “had vast landing holdings,” Melton wrote, and Anthony had grand plans for his town. “The descriptions of the lots indicate that Abner Anthony was planning a bustling city. … Street names included Spring, Green, Brown, Commerce, Rives and Powell’s Alley. … Tax records for 1819 showed some 28 lots existing—many more than the County Seat town of Competition had in 1819.”
According to Melton, Monroe “disappeared from the tax rolls in 1869,” and today, all physical signs of the town are gone. At Sunken City Brewing Company, located in Hardy, the legend lives on, however, in the name of its brewery and its Dam Lager.
While not mentioning Monroe, the website HomeAway: Vacation Rentals, Beach Houses, Cabins & More gives tourist information about Smith Mountain Lake’s “underwater town,” claiming the abandoned structures have “created fantastic conditions for fishing for striped bass.”
It goes on to tell of “strange catches” made in the area, “such as an old jacket from one of the former inhabitants. While this occurs less and less over the years, it does still happen, especially after a storm.”
The truth is that after properties were acquired, AEP had to remove any structures—barns, houses, etc. that could later present a navigational problem on the lake. In some instances, AEP’s Alexander said, property owners were able to move structures.
“If they didn’t, we would go in and clear out everything to make sure, when the water was raised to the normal level, there wouldn’t be any obstruction or any problems,” he said.
The name of the Monroe’s founder has also endured, if only as a road name. The main road into Lynchburg Camp subdivision, a neighborhood that sits off State Route 626 near Parkway Marina—formerly Saunders Marina—in Bedford County, is called “Anthony Home Road.”