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| Tygart Dam, 1937. Source: WV History on View |
I love a good, local ghost story---the more obscure and unknown, the better! My husband, who was born and raised in Grafton, WV knows this, and was more than happy to share with me a tale he had always heard growing up in Taylor County concerning the Tygart Dam.
According to local legend, an African-American worker on the dam slipped and fell into a section of wet concrete that had just been poured. A rescue attempt was impossible, and it was deemed too risky to attempt to remove the body. So, the helpless worker was entombed inside the dam and to this day, visitors to the area can hear mournful wails and screams coming from the dam, as his grisly death replays itself over and over.
As with many ghost stories, the back-story on the wailing ghost of Tygart Dam cannot be proven with historical documents. However, that doesn't mean that there couldn't be paranormal activity reported that is based on actual events.
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| Tygart Dam, Summer 2020 |
My husband's grandfather was actually one of the many laborers who 'flooded' into the Tygart River Valley in the mid-1930's in order to work for the WPA in the construction of the Tygart Dam. Construction on the dam was authorized between 1934, and construction took place between 1935 until the dam was officially operational in 1938.
At the peak of construction, unskilled laborers working on the dam could earn 45 cents an hour, and skilled laborers could earn up to $1.10 an hour. The problem was, there was a shortage of skilled laborers. Local newspapers at the time noted that skilled laborers were hard to come by because of union and apprenticeship practices at the time, and so they were given authorization to let some of the unskilled laborers take on work that they normally wouldn't be allowed to. That fact, combined with the less stringent safety protocols of the 1930's, led to what I believe was the majority of deaths associated with the dam project.
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| Back of Dam, Summer 2020 |
There are 11 official deaths associated with the dam itself, and at least 151 injuries, some quite serious. That doesn't even take into account the deaths and injuries associated with off-site projects that contributed to the dam's construction.
Although he wasn't African-American, author Brenda Tokarz notes that there was a young man who apparently DID die after a fall into the wet cement. On March 4, 1936, 16-year old Charles Goff died while working on the Tygart Dam. It's hard to read, but his death certificate suggests that Charles died when a concrete chute collapsed. His death certificate doesn't explicitly state that he was buried in wet cement, but notes that he died of a skull fracture and was buried in Bluemont Cemetery.
Fatal falls, many involving fractured skulls, were probably the most common causes of death for dam workers. George Dale died on August 17, 1936 from injuries sustained in a fall on July 21st of that year. Lalon (Labon) Davis fell 35 feet and fractured his skull, dying immediately from his injuries. On June 7th, 1937, Hays Berry also died after he fell, fracturing his skull and suffering from multiple internal injuries. Joeseph Duriga died on September 16th after falling from the dam. His cause of death is listed as drowning.
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| Hinton Daily News, 19 August 1936 |
With all the fatal falls occurring at this dam, I can definitely believe that those screams of fear and pain could be trapped as a residual haunting. Eleven victims---that's a lot of death, happening in an almost identical manner, in a span of around two short years.
Today, Tygart Lake, created by the dam, is a popular outdoor recreation area and state park. The dam itself was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995 and has a visitor's center that you can visit and learn more about the history of Tygart Dam, the lake, and the surrounding area. Several months ago, my husband and I had dinner at the state park's lodge, then drove up to see the dam. As we were sitting on a bench nearby, watching the water flow over the concrete, we both swore we could hear what sounded like screaming coming from down below.
Sources and Further Reading:
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| The Raleigh Register 11 June 1937 |
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| The Raleigh Register 17 September 1937 |
Wow, thank you for writing this! I was doing some research for a writing project of my own cause Hays Berry (not Hayse, as the obit says) was my grandma's older brother. I knew dam building was dangerous but I never knew that Tygart claimed so many other lives in addition to his. Great information!
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