New Ellenton has a unique and sentimental history. The people of Ellenton learned in the early 1950's that their town would be displaced by a massive nuclear weapons complex. The United States Government bought 200,000 acres of land in Aiken and Barnwell Counties for $19 million and built facilities to generate nuclear components for the hydrogen bomb. It was common to see homes, churches or stores traveling down the road on the back of a truck. The Atomic City Festival began in 1972 in remembrance of the 6,000 people whose town was displaced in order to provide national security.

For more information on New Ellenton's unique history, check out the Books page to download complete historical accounts of Ellenton and Dunbarton.