Leigh, South Carolina holds a special fascination for those interested in South Carolina’s rich history. This ghost town, with its silent streets and abandoned structures, tells a story of human ambition, community building, and the sometimes harsh realities of frontier life.
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Remarks: Researchers studying Leigh have noted its importance in South Carolina’s historical narrative. The town’s rise and fall mirrors many similar communities across the American frontier, offering lessons about sustainability and community resilience.
Leigh, South Carolina: A Company Town Lost to Progress
Unlike many ghost towns that gradually declined due to economic factors or natural disasters, Leigh, South Carolina represents a unique case of a company town that thrived briefly before being completely erased by federal mandate. The story of Leigh is inextricably linked to the Leigh Banana Case Company and the subsequent development of the Savannah River Site during the Cold War era.
Origins and the Leigh Banana Case Company
Leigh was established in the 1920s as a company town by the Leigh Banana Case Company (LBC), which relocated from Chicago, Illinois to the Savannah River Valley in South Carolina. The town was located in Barnwell County, approximately two miles south of the Aiken County town of Ellenton, near Four Mile Creek and the Savannah River—across from what is now Plant Vogel.
The company, founded by Carl Leigh, specialized in manufacturing wooden containers, particularly crates, baskets, and boxes made from cypress wood harvested from the surrounding swamps. By the 1940s, the Leigh Banana Case Company had grown to become one of the largest employers in Barnwell County, providing jobs for approximately 300 people in an otherwise predominantly agricultural region.
Life in a Company Town
As a purpose-built company town, Leigh featured all the essential elements of a small, self-contained community. The town consisted of: – A mill operation that opened in 1926 – Cottages for workers and their families – A commissary (company store) where workers could purchase staple goods – A church – A hotel The commissary building, constructed in 1926, served as the commercial center of the community.
Like many company stores of the era, it likely operated on a scrip system, where workers were paid in company currency that could only be used at the commissary, effectively keeping money within the company ecosystem.
Unique Logging Operations
What made the Leigh Banana Case Company particularly distinctive was its logging operation. The company harvested cypress logs from the swamps along the Savannah River, using a combination of their own logging crews and independent loggers. One of the most notable independent logging operations that supplied the company was owned by Leroy Simpkins of Augusta, Georgia.
Simpkins operated two riverboat paddlers, the Robert E. Lee and the Kathryn S., captained by Gary Beard from Ellenton. These riverboats would push enormous barges up the Savannah River into the cypress swamps, where logging crews would cut trees using only hand saws (not power saws) and load the logs onto the barges.
The loaded barges would then be pushed back downriver to a location locals called the “Swamp Landing,” situated on the property of J.B. Harley’s “Swamp Farm.” According to historical accounts, these logging expeditions could last from seven to fourteen days, depending on weather conditions, and the boats wouldn’t return until the barge was mostly loaded with cypress logs. Upon return to the landing, a converted truck functioning as a makeshift crane would unload the logs—a process that could take a week or more.
The logs would then be transported by truck to the Leigh Banana Case Company mill for processing into various wooden containers. Beyond its industrial purpose, the Robert E. Lee riverboat occasionally served social functions. Historical accounts mention that it was once freshly painted “white as snow” to host a wedding rehearsal party, complete with violin music—a glimpse into the cultural life that existed in this small company town.
The Savannah River Project and Displacement
The fate of Leigh changed dramatically on November 28, 1950, when the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and DuPont announced plans to construct a massive nuclear materials production facility along the Savannah River.
This project, initially called the Savannah River Plant (later the Savannah River Site), required the acquisition of approximately 210,000 acres spanning parts of Aiken, Barnwell, and Allendale counties. This federal mandate led to the displacement of approximately 6,000 people and the abandonment or relocation of an estimated 15,000 structures. While larger towns like Ellenton received more attention in historical accounts, smaller communities like Leigh, Hawthorne, and Robbins were equally affected by this massive undertaking.
For the Leigh Banana Case Company, the announcement marked the end of operations. According to historical records, Carl Leigh wanted to continue the business but could not find a suitable supply of timber to justify relocating the plant. As a result, the company simply ceased operations in 1952.
Compensation and Controversy
The displacement of communities for the Savannah River Site was not without controversy. Many residents throughout the affected area felt that the compensation offered by the government—approximately $19 million for 210,000 acres—was inadequate. Some pointed out that the fair market value of the timber alone was estimated at about $28 million, not including the value of the land, homes, businesses, and other improvements.
For the workers at the Leigh Banana Case Company, the closure meant not only the loss of their homes but also their livelihoods. Unlike residents of larger towns who might have been able to relocate as communities (such as Ellenton residents moving to New Ellenton), the dispersal of company town residents often meant the dissolution of tight-knit working communities.
Physical Remnants and Legacy
While most structures in Leigh were abandoned or demolished during the creation of the Savannah River Site, at least one building has survived to the present day. The commissary building was purchased and relocated approximately 20 miles to its current location near the Barnwell County Airport on Highway 278 in Barnwell. Over the decades, this building has served various purposes—housing an antique and furniture restoration business, a dancing and baton twirling studio, a party barn, and a feed and seed store.
Since 1998, it has operated as the Little Red Barn Pottery & Art Gallery, owned by Liz Ringus. The building’s history and connection to the lost town of Leigh became the subject of a documentary titled “Mart to Art: A Repurposed Life,” produced by the Savannah River Archaeological Research Program in 2018. The film features interviews with former mill workers, members of the Leigh community, historians, and the building’s current owners, highlighting the importance of historic preservation and the need for saving collective heritage.
As for the Robert E. Lee riverboat that played such an important role in the town’s logging operations, historical accounts indicate that it eventually burned and sank in the Savannah River sometime after 1950, leaving no physical trace of this once-vital part of Leigh’s economy.
Archaeological and Historical Research
The Savannah River Archaeological Research Program (SRARP), established in 1973, has conducted various studies within the Savannah River Site boundaries to document and preserve information about the communities that once existed there, including Leigh.
Their research has helped preserve the memory of this company town through oral histories, archival research, and documentation of physical remains. The SRARP maintains a web exhibit on the Robert E. Lee riverboat and the Leigh Banana Case Company, ensuring that this aspect of South Carolina’s industrial heritage is not forgotten.
Leigh Today
Today, the former location of Leigh lies within the secured boundaries of the Savannah River Site, inaccessible to the general public and former residents alike. The exact spot where the community once stood has likely been significantly altered by the construction and operation of the nuclear facility over the past seven decades.
The most tangible connection to Leigh’s past remains the old commissary building, now the Little Red Barn in Barnwell, which Ringus has described as “a building that talks about a lost town and time.” As George Wingard, program coordinator for the SRARP and director of the “Mart to Art” documentary, noted, it’s “the little building that refuses to quit.”
Conclusion
The story of Leigh, South Carolina represents a fascinating intersection of industrial history, company town development, and Cold War politics. Though short-lived compared to many other American communities, Leigh’s unique economy centered around cypress logging and wooden container manufacturing represents an important chapter in South Carolina’s industrial development.
The town’s ultimate fate—sacrificed for national security interests during the early Cold War—mirrors that of many other communities across the American landscape whose histories have been altered or erased by larger national priorities. Through historical research, archaeological investigation, and preservation efforts like the relocation of the commissary building, fragments of Leigh’s story continue to be told, ensuring that this small company town is not entirely forgotten to history.
Sources
1. “South Carolina Ghost Towns.” Rootsweb. http://sites.rootsweb.com/~scghostn/ellenton/ellenton.htm
2. “Mart to Art.” The Augusta Chronicle. March 12, 2018. https://www.augustachronicle.com/story/news/local/the-people-sentinel/2018/03/12/mart-to-art/12934739007/ 3. “The Robert E. Lee.” SC Institute for Archaeology and Anthropology, University of South Carolina. https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/artsandsciences/sc_institute_archeology_and_anthropology/divisions/srarp/former_towns/robert_e_lee.php
4. “The Leigh Banana Case Company.” Savannah River Archaeological Research Program. www.srarp.com/leigh-banana-case-company
5. Wingard, George. “Savannah River Research.” University of South Carolina. 2018.
6. Reed, Mary Beth, et al. “Savannah River Site at Fifty.” U.S. Department of Energy. 2002.
7. Brooks, Richard D. “Initial Historic Overview of the Savannah River Plant, Aiken and Barnwell Counties, South Carolina.” University of South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology. 1981.
