Dukeville, North Carolina facts for kids

Dukeville is a small community located in Rowan County, North Carolina, in the United States. It's known for its history as a special kind of town built for workers.

What is Dukeville?

Dukeville was created in 1926. It was built as a "mill village" along the Yadkin River. A mill village is a town built by a company specifically to house its employees and their families. Dukeville was made for the people who worked at the Buck Steam Station. This power plant was owned by a company called Duke Energy.

Dukeville's Purpose

The main reason Dukeville was built was to provide homes close to the Buck Steam Station. This made it easy for workers to get to their jobs. These types of villages often had everything workers needed, like houses, stores, and sometimes even schools or churches, all provided by the company.

Environmental Concerns: Coal Ash

In 2014, people living near the Buck Steam Station in Dukeville learned about a serious environmental issue. They were told that pits containing "coal ash" near their homes might be releasing harmful materials into the groundwater. Groundwater is the water found underground in the cracks and spaces in soil, sand, and rock.

Coal ash is a leftover material from burning coal to make electricity. It can contain substances that are not good for the environment or for people's health if they get into water sources. The concern was that these materials were "leaching," which means slowly seeping or dissolving, from the ash pits into the groundwater.

A Documentary Film

This issue became so important that it was featured in a documentary film. This film was shown at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. Documentaries help to tell real-life stories and raise awareness about important topics.