1 00:00:09,542 --> 00:00:18,618 >>> ON THE NIGHT OF APRIL 16th, 2013, A MYSTERIOUS INCIDENT SOUTH OF SAN JOSE MARKED THE MOST SERIOUS ATTACK ON OUR POWER 2 00:00:18,685 --> 00:00:24,391 GRID IN HISTORY. >> IF THEY HAD SUCCEEDED, WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED? >> COULD HAVE BROUGHT DOWN 3 00:00:24,457 --> 00:00:28,495 SILICON VALLEY. >> GOOGLE? APPLE? >> YES. 4 00:00:28,561 --> 00:00:31,231 YES, THAT'S CORRECT. >> WHO DO YOU THINK THIS COULD HAVE BEEN? >> I DON'T KNOW. 5 00:00:31,297 --> 00:00:35,668 >> WE DON'T KNOW IF THEY WERE A NATION STATE. WE DON'T KNOW IF THEY WERE DOMESTIC ACTORS. 6 00:00:35,735 --> 00:00:47,213 BUT IT WAS SOMEBODY WHO DID HAVE CONFIDENT PEOPLE WHO COULD, IN FACT, PLAN OUT THIS KIND OF VERY SOPHISTICATED ATTACK AND EXECUTE 7 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:54,487 IT. >>> WE'RE ALL TOGETHER. >> THE MILLERS ARE A LARGE FAMILY THAT ENJOY GETTING 8 00:00:54,554 --> 00:01:00,427 TOGETHER. THEY PURCHASED THIS HISTORIC HOUSE IN SOUTHERN VIRGINIA NEAR WHERE THEY GREW UP TO HAVE A 9 00:01:00,493 --> 00:01:12,806 PLACE FOR FAMILY CELEBRATIONS. NO ONE COULD HAVE IMAGINED HOW THE HISTORY OF THE HOME AND GROUNDS WOULD CHANGE EVERYTHING 10 00:01:12,872 --> 00:01:18,545 THEY THOUGHT THEY KNEW ABOUT THEIR FAMILY'S HISTORY. >> IT'S FULL CIRCLE. IT WAS MEANT TO HAPPEN. 11 00:01:18,611 --> 00:01:27,320 TO ME, IT WAS LIKE MEANT TO HAPPEN. >> THIS IS GOD. THIS IS WHERE WE'RE SUPPOSED TO 12 00:01:27,387 --> 00:01:32,091 BE. >> I'M LESLEY STAHL. >> I'M BILL WHITAKER. >> I'M ANDERSON COOPER. 13 00:01:32,158 --> 00:01:41,868 >> I'M JOHN. >> I'M SCOTT PELLEY. THOSE STORIES TONIGHT ON ""60 MINUTES."" 14 00:01:46,105 --> 00:01:55,281 >>> IF THERE'S ONE THING WE CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT IN OUR MODERN WORLD, IT'S ELECTRICITY. IT PROS HEAT AND LIGHT, PUMPS 15 00:01:55,348 --> 00:02:02,422 WATER AND FUELS, REFRIGERATES FOOD AND BREATHES LIFE INTO OUR COMPUTERS, TVS AND PHONES. OF ITS NO SURPRISE THE NORTH 16 00:02:02,489 --> 00:02:09,762 AMERICAN ELECTRIC GRID WHICH CREATES, MOVES, AND DELIVERED OUR ELECTRICITY IS CONSIDERED THE MOST CRITICAL PART OF OUR 17 00:02:09,829 --> 00:02:16,469 CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE. WHAT IS SURPRISING IS THE NATURE OF THE GRID ITSELF. A HODGEPODGE OF PUBLIC AND 18 00:02:16,536 --> 00:02:25,044 PRIVATELY OWNED HALF CENTURY OLD TECH THAT INCREASINGLY VULNERABLE TO SEVERE WEATHER, CYBER ATTACKS AND EVEN PHYSICAL 19 00:02:25,111 --> 00:02:30,884 ASSAULTS. AS WE FIRST REPORTED EARLIER THIS YEAR, NO GOVERNMENT AGENCY, NOT EVEN THE DEPARTMENT OF 20 00:02:30,950 --> 00:02:38,525 ENERGY, IS TRULY IN CHARGE OF PROTECTING IT. ONE ATTACK NINE YEARS AGO WAS A WAKEUP CALL FOR INDUSTRY AND 21 00:02:38,591 --> 00:02:45,932 GOVERNMENT ALIKE. >> THERE'S BEEN A MAJOR TRANSFORMER LEAP, THIS IS A SUBSTATION. 22 00:02:45,999 --> 00:02:54,841 >> ON THE NIGHT OF APRIL 16th, 2013, A MYSTERIOUS INCIDENT SOUTH OF SAN JOSE MARKED THE MOST SERIOUS ATTACK ON OUR POWER 23 00:02:54,908 --> 00:03:01,381 GRID IN HISTORY. >> THEY TELL US SOMEONE MAY HAVE FIRED SOME SHOTS IN NOO THAT TRANSFORMER. 24 00:03:01,447 --> 00:03:09,622 >> FOR 20 MINUTES, GUNMEN METHODICALLY FIRED AT HIGH VOLTAGE TRANSFORMERS AT THE METCALF POWER SUBSTATION, 25 00:03:09,689 --> 00:03:17,630 SECURITY CAMERAS CAPTURED BULLETS HITTING THE CHAIN LINK FENCE. >> THEY KNEW WHAT THEY WERE 26 00:03:17,697 --> 00:03:23,202 DOING. THEY WANTED TO KNOCK OUT THE SUBSTATION. >> AT THE TIME, JOHN WILLINGHOFF 27 00:03:23,269 --> 00:03:32,412 WAS CHAIRMN OF FERC, A SMALL GOVERNMENT AGENCY WITH JURISDICTION OVER THE U.S. HIGH VOLTAGE TRANSMISSION CENTER. 28 00:03:32,478 --> 00:03:39,786 >> YOU'RE CONCERNED ENOUGH THAT YOU FLEW OUT THERE? >> THAT'S CORRECT. I TOOK TWO OTHER INDIVIDUALS 29 00:03:39,852 --> 00:03:42,755 THAT TRAINED U.S. SPECIAL FORCES. THEY TRAIN PEOPLE TO ACTUALLY ATTACK INFRASTRUCTURE. 30 00:03:42,822 --> 00:03:52,799 >> AND WHAT THE FORMER COMMANDOS FOUND LOOKED FOR FAMILIAR. THEY DISCOVERED THE ATTACKERS MARKED FIRING POSITIONS WITH 31 00:03:52,865 --> 00:04:02,308 PILES OF ROCKS THAT NIGHT THEY BROKE INTO TWO UNDERGROUND VAULT ANDS CUT OFF COMMUNICATIONS COMING FROM THE SUBSTATION. 32 00:04:02,375 --> 00:04:09,549 >> THEN THEN THEY WENT FROM THE VAULTS ACROSS THE ROAD OVER INTO A PASTEUR AREA HERE. THERE WERE AT LEAST FOUR OR FIVE 33 00:04:09,616 --> 00:04:15,088 DIFFERENT FIRING POSITIONS. NO REAL SECURITY. >> THERE WAS NO SECURITY AT ALL. REALLY. 34 00:04:15,154 --> 00:04:23,529 >> THEY AIMED AT THE NARROW COOLING FINS CAUSING 17 OF 21 LARGE TRANSFORMERS TO OVERHEAT AND STOP WORKING. 35 00:04:23,596 --> 00:04:31,738 >> THEY HIT THEM 90 TIMES. THEY WERE VERY ACCURATE. THEY WERE DOING THIS AT NIGHT WITH MUZZLE FLASH IN THEIR FACE. 36 00:04:31,804 --> 00:04:41,080 >> SOMEONE OUTSIDE THE PLANT HEARD GUNFIRE AND CALLED 911. THE GUNMEN DISAPPEARED WITHOUT A TRACE ABOUT A MINUTE BEFORE 37 00:04:41,147 --> 00:04:52,592 PATROL CAR ARRIVED. THE SUBSTATION WAS DOWN FOR WEEKS BUT FORTUNATELY PG & E HAD ENOUGH TIME TO REROUTE POWER. 38 00:04:52,659 --> 00:05:00,099 >> THIS IF HE SUCCEEDED, WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED? >> COULD HAVE BROUGHT DOWN SILICON VALLEY, APPLE, GOOGLE. 39 00:05:00,166 --> 00:05:03,703 >> WHO DO YOU THINK THIS COULD HAVE BEEN? >> I DON'T KNOW. WE DON'T KNOW IF THEY WERE A 40 00:05:03,770 --> 00:05:09,475 NATION STATE. WE DON'T KNOW IF THEY WERE DOMESTIC ACTORS. BUT IT WAS SOMEBODY WHO DID HAVE 41 00:05:09,542 --> 00:05:17,383 CONFIDENT PEOPLE WHO COULD, IN FACT, PLAN OUT THIS KIND OF A VERY SOPHISTICATED ATTACK. >> THE GRID IS A SPRAWLING 42 00:05:17,450 --> 00:05:24,123 TARGET. THERE ARE ACTUALLY THREE IN THE U.S., THE EASTERN, WESTERN, AND TEXAS HAS ITS OWN. 43 00:05:24,190 --> 00:05:32,231 MOST OF US RARELY NOTICE SUBSTATIONS. THERE ARE 55,000 ACROSS THE COUNTRY, EACH HOUSING 44 00:05:32,298 --> 00:05:39,505 TRANSFORMERS, THE WORK HORSES OF THE GRID. INSIDE THESE MASSIVE METAL BOXES, RAW ELECTRICITY IS 45 00:05:39,572 --> 00:05:49,716 CONVERTED TO HIGHER OR LOWER VOLTAGES. SHOULD A TRANSFORMER EXPLODE LIKE THIS ONE IN MANHATTAN 46 00:05:49,782 --> 00:05:56,823 DURING SUPERSTORM SANDY, THE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO TRIGGER A LOCALIZED GRID PRESERVING BLACKOUT. 47 00:05:56,889 --> 00:06:05,064 BUT IF SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE GRID GO DOWN AT THE SAME TIME, THE SHUTDOWNS CAN CAST H. CASCADE LIKE DOMINOS. 48 00:06:05,131 --> 00:06:13,706 THAT'S WHAT SET OFF THE GREAT NORTHEAST BLACKOUT IN 20003, LEAVING 45 MILLION AMERICANS WITHOUT POWER. 49 00:06:13,773 --> 00:06:23,449 A FEW MONTHS BEFORE THE ASSAULT ON METCALF, JOHN WILLINGHOFF OF FERC COMMISSIONED A STUDY TO SEE IF A PHYSICAL ATTACK ON CRITICAL 50 00:06:23,516 --> 00:06:32,859 TRANSFORMERS COULD TRIGGER CASCADING BLACKOUTS. >> IT WAS ACTUALLY VERY SHOCKING RESULT TO US, VERY FEW NUMBER OF 51 00:06:32,925 --> 00:06:37,930 SUBSTATIONS YOU NEED TO TAKE OUT IN THE ENTIRE UNITED STATES TO KNOCK OUT THE ENTIRE GRID. >> KNOCK OUT THE ENTIRE GRID? 52 00:06:37,997 --> 00:06:41,834 >> THAT'S CORRECT. >> HOW MANY WOULD IT TAKE TO KNOCK OUT PUTTING THE ENTIRE COUNTRY IN A BLACKOUT? 53 00:06:41,901 --> 00:06:48,141 >> LESS THAN 20. >> THE REPORT WAS LEAKED TO "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL." IT FOUND THE U.S. COULD SUFFER A 54 00:06:48,207 --> 00:06:55,648 COAST TO COAST BLACKOUT IF THEY KNOCKED OUT JUST NINE SUBSTATIONS. >> YOU ARE RELAYING THIS IN A 55 00:06:55,715 --> 00:07:00,853 VERY MEASURED WAY. I WOULD THINK THIS IS QUITE ALARMING. >> IT WAS ALARMING. 56 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:06,859 THERE IS NO QUESTION. IT IS ALARMING. >> AFTER THE METCALF ATTACK, FERC PRESSED THE UTILITY TO 57 00:07:06,926 --> 00:07:15,501 HARDEN DEFENSES AT THEIR MOST CRITICAL SUBSTATIONS. ERIC WALLS ERECT WALLS AND SENSORS. 58 00:07:15,568 --> 00:07:21,841 THERE IS NOW A WALL AROUND METCALF. BUT MANY SUBSTATIONS REMAIN VULNERABLE TARGETS LIKE THIS ONE 59 00:07:21,908 --> 00:07:30,750 WE FOUND IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA THAT SERVES MORE THAN 300,000 CUSTOMERS. HUGE TRANSFORMERS PROTECTING VIA 60 00:07:30,817 --> 00:07:38,391 CHAIN LINK FENCE. >> ANYBODY WHO KNOWS ABOUT HOWER SYSTEMS KNOWS THAT THE GRID IS PHYSICALLY SPREAD ALL OVER THE 61 00:07:38,457 --> 00:07:44,163 COUNTRYSIDE. THERE ARE A LOT OF PLACE THAT'S ARE VULNERABLE. >> DR. GRANGER MORGAN IS A 62 00:07:44,230 --> 00:07:49,969 CARNEGIE MELON UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR OF ENGINEERING WHO CHAIRED THREE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES REPORTS ON THE POWER 63 00:07:50,036 --> 00:08:00,179 GRID FOR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. THE MOST RECENT IN 2021 AND EARLIER REPORT ON TERRORISM WAS CLASSIFIED FOR FIVE YEARS. 64 00:08:00,246 --> 00:08:08,321 >> WE SIMPLY MADE A STRONG CASE THAT THE GRID WAS PHYSICALLY VERY VULNERABLE. >> WHY WAS THERE A SPECIFIC 65 00:08:08,387 --> 00:08:13,960 REPORT ON TERRORISM AND THE GRID? >> THERE WERE CONCERNS ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY THAT A TERRORIST 66 00:08:14,026 --> 00:08:20,867 ORGANIZATION COULD ATTACK THE GRID. AND AROUND THE WORLD, THERE HAVE BEEN A FAIR NUMBER OF ATTACKS ON 67 00:08:20,933 --> 00:08:26,772 THE GRIDS. >> THEY HAVE ATTACKED WITH BOMBS, PLANES, AND DRONES. RUSSIA'S CYBER ATTACK ON 68 00:08:26,839 --> 00:08:36,048 UKRAINE'S GRID IN 2015 KNOCKED ABOUT 60 SUBSTATIONS OFFLINE LEAVING 230,000 PEOPLE IN THE DARK. 69 00:08:36,115 --> 00:08:42,889 THE U.S. SECRETARY OF ENERGY HAS SAID RUSSIA COULD DO THE SAME THING HERE. >> IN THE REPORT WE DID ON THE 70 00:08:42,955 --> 00:08:53,232 RESILIENCE OF THE POWER SYSTEM, WE DID ARGUE THAT WE NEEDED AN ORGANIZATION, PROBABLY DOE AND DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, 71 00:08:53,299 --> 00:08:58,704 TO SYSTEMATICALLY LOOK AT ALL KINDS OF VULNERABLES WE HAVE AND FIGURE OUT WHO COULD ADDRESS EACH. 72 00:08:58,771 --> 00:09:08,581 IN TERMS OF RESILIENCE ISSUES, THERE IS NOBODY IN CHARGE. I MEAN, THERE IS NO SINGLE ENTITY THAT HAS RESPONSIBILITY 73 00:09:08,648 --> 00:09:18,190 FOR EVERYTHING. >> THIS IS A MARVEL OF MODERN ENGINEERING. NO ONE PERSON OWNS OR CONTROLS 74 00:09:18,257 --> 00:09:23,329 IT. IT'S ACTUALLY 3,000 DIFFERENT COMPANIES BOTH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR THAT OWN OR 75 00:09:23,396 --> 00:09:27,800 OPERATE LITTLE PIECES OF THE ELECTRICITY GRID. >> MIKE MAYBE IS AN IRAQ WAR VET. 76 00:09:27,867 --> 00:09:34,607 A FORMER COP AND A SELF TAUGHT GRID SECURITY EXPERT. BY DAY, HE WORKS FOR THE GOVERNMENT. 77 00:09:34,674 --> 00:09:45,217 IN HIS SPARE TIME, HE UNCOVERS PUBLIC INFORMATION. THEY WOULD RATHER NOT SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY AND PUBLISHES THEM 78 00:09:45,284 --> 00:09:51,791 ON GRID SECURITY NOW. HE IS BOTH FASCINATED AND HORRIFIED BY THE GRID. >> I THINK EVERYBODY NEEDS TO BE 79 00:09:51,857 --> 00:09:59,031 AS ALARMED AS I AM. WE HAD DISASTERS IN THE PAST. THEY GENERALLY ALWAYS BEEN REGIONAL IN SCALE. 80 00:09:59,098 --> 00:10:08,674 WHAT WE HAVE NEVER HAD IS A NATIONAL SCALE BLACKOUT WHICH IS COMPLETELY POSSIBLE UNDER SOME KNOWN THREATS SUCH AS THE CYBER 81 00:10:08,741 --> 00:10:15,348 THREAT, THE PHYSICAL SECURITY THREAT. OR EVEN EXTREME WEATHER. AND THE U.S. PUBLIC IS 82 00:10:15,414 --> 00:10:22,588 COMPLETELY UNPREPARED TO SURVIVE WITHOUT THE ELECTRIC GRID FOR ANY PERIOD OF TIME WHATSOEVER. >> SO YOU HAVE WIND POWER TOO? 83 00:10:22,655 --> 00:10:30,229 >> SO WHEN HE MOVED TO TEXAS TWO YEARS AGO, HE PREPARED FOR THE WORST, INSTALLING SOLAR, WIND, AND BATTERY POWER. 84 00:10:30,296 --> 00:10:40,773 >> WHOLE SYSTEMS 48 VOLTS. THE HIS FAMILY SURVIVED THE DEADLY WINTER STORM. HUNDREDS OF TEXANS PERISHED. 85 00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:52,918 >> THE DEATHS WERE DUE TO HYPOTHERMIA, CARBON MONDAY OOCHL YID POISONING. THEY WOULD GO INTO THEIR CAR IN 86 00:10:52,985 --> 00:11:01,360 THE GRARAGE TO STAY WARM. >> NMAYBE IS THE THORN IN THE UTILITY COMPANIES. >> I FILED A COMPLAINT ABOUT 87 00:11:01,427 --> 00:11:06,799 PHYSICAL SECURITY. I FILED A COMPLAINT ABOUT THE TEXAS BLACKOUT. >> THE GOVERNMENT AND THE 88 00:11:06,866 --> 00:11:13,039 INDUSTRY, THINK YOU'RE AN ANNOYANCE? >> I'VE BEEN TERMED A GRID SECURITY GADFLY WHICH I WEAR 89 00:11:13,105 --> 00:11:20,279 THAT AS A BADGE OF HONOR. >> ONE FREQUENT TARGET, THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY. MAYBE TOLD US THE GRID 90 00:11:20,346 --> 00:11:27,887 INFORMATION THAT THE DOE PUTS OUT IS CONFUSING AND DISPERSED. HE SAID SPENDS HOURS TRYING TO MAKE SENSE OF IT ALL. 91 00:11:27,953 --> 00:11:40,633 >> THERE IS A REQUIREMENT THAT THEY REPORT ELECTRIC DISTURBANCE EENTS BUT THE DWRAT FATA IS SO O I TOOK IT UPON MYSELF TO DO DATA 92 00:11:40,699 --> 00:11:47,740 CRUNCHING. WHAT I FOUND IS THAT 38% OF THE ELECTRIC DISTURBANCE EVENTS IN THE UNITED STATES ARE DUE TO 93 00:11:47,807 --> 00:11:52,411 PHYSICAL ATTACKS. >> 38%? THAT'S A LOT. >> IN THE PAST DECADE, THERE 94 00:11:52,478 --> 00:11:59,819 HAVE BEEN OVER 700 PHYSICAL ATTACKS AGAINST THE U.S. ELECTRIC GRID. >> MANY ARE COPYCATS OF THE 95 00:11:59,885 --> 00:12:08,127 METCALF ASSAULT N 2016, AN ECOTERRORIST IN UTAH SHOT UP A LARGE TRANSFORMER TRIGGERING A BLACKOUT. 96 00:12:08,194 --> 00:12:16,702 HE SAID HE PLANNED TO HIT FIVE SUBSTATIONS IN ONE DAY TO SHUT DOWN THE WEST COAST. IN 2020, THE FBI UNCOVERED A 97 00:12:16,769 --> 00:12:29,582 WHITE SUPREMACIST PLOT CALLED LIGHTS OUT TO SIMULTANEOUSLY ATTACK SUBSTATIONS AROUND THE COUNTRY. 98 00:12:29,648 --> 00:12:35,488 >> WE'RE SEEING PLANNING TO DISABLE POWER. >> DR. LIZ SHERWOOD RANDAL IS PRESIDENT BIDEN'S HOMELAND 99 00:12:35,554 --> 00:12:41,160 SECURITY ADVISER. WE MET WITH HER AND ANN NEWBERGER, DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER FOR CYBER. 100 00:12:41,227 --> 00:12:47,566 THEY TOLD US THE ADMINISTRATION'S INFRASTRUCTURE PLANS SHOULD HELP SECURE THE GRID. 101 00:12:47,633 --> 00:12:52,404 BUT ACKNOWLEDGE THE THREATS ARE REAL. >> WE HAVE PHYSICAL THREATS TO THE GRID. 102 00:12:52,471 --> 00:12:57,243 WE HAVE NATURAL THREATS TO THE GRID. WE HAVE CYBER THREATS TO THE GRID. 103 00:12:57,309 --> 00:13:04,984 >> SHE CAME TO THE WHITE HOUSE FROM THE SECRETIVE NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY WHERE SHE BATTLED RUSSIAN HACKERS IN 104 00:13:05,050 --> 00:13:09,488 CYBERSPACE. >> YOU SAID YOU WERE TALKING TO PRIVATE UTILITY COMPANIES AROUND THE COUNTRY ABOUT THE POTENTIAL 105 00:13:09,555 --> 00:13:16,495 FOR A CYBER ATTACK? WHAT ARE YOU TELLING THEM? >> WE'RE SHARING WITH THEM SOME OF THE CONTEXT REGARDING HOW 106 00:13:16,562 --> 00:13:23,736 RUSSIA AND OTHER COUNTRIES USE CYBER IN CRISIS OR CONFLICT. WAY HAVE DOWNGRADED INTELLIGENCE. 107 00:13:23,802 --> 00:13:30,476 WE HAVE TAKEN ANY INFORMATION WE HAVE ABOUT MALICIOUS SOFTWARE OR TACTICS THAT RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT USED, SHARE THAT WITH THE 108 00:13:30,543 --> 00:13:38,150 PRIVATE SECTOR WITH VERY PRACTICAL ADVICE OF HOW TO PROTECT AGAINST IT. >> ISN'T THE PROBLEM WHEN IT 109 00:13:38,217 --> 00:13:45,090 COMES TO THE GRID, THERE IS NTHING LIKE THE FAA OR THE FAD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION OR THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 110 00:13:45,157 --> 00:13:53,666 COMMISSION. THERE IS NO ONE OVERALL AGENCY OVERSEEING WHAT YOU SAY 3,000 DIFFERENT UTILITIES ACROSS THE 111 00:13:53,732 --> 00:14:01,907 COUNTRY? >> WE DON'T HAVE ONE SYSTEM. WE HAVE SEVERAL GRIDS. WE ALSO HAVE INDIVIDUAL ENERGY 112 00:14:01,974 --> 00:14:07,413 ECOSYSTEMS AND STATES. AND THAT'S PART OF OUR STRENGTH BECAUSE THE RESOURCES FOR ENERGY ARE DIFFERENT IN DIFFERENT 113 00:14:07,479 --> 00:14:12,585 REGIONS. AND WE HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE'RE NOT GOING HAVE A ONE SIZE FITS ALL SYSTEM. 114 00:14:12,651 --> 00:14:17,957 >> YOU CALL A LOT OF OUR STRENGTHS. BUT IT ALSO SEEMS TO BE ONE OF OUR VULNERABILITIES. 115 00:14:18,023 --> 00:14:27,266 >> WELL IN, MY VIEW, WE CAN'T IMPOSE THE REGULATIONS THAT WOULD -- YOU WOULD BE SUGGESTING AS A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 116 00:14:27,333 --> 00:14:36,175 WE CAN SET STANDARDS. AND WE ARE SETTING STANDARDS IN A VARIETY OF ARENAS. >> CARNEGIE MELON'S GRANGER 117 00:14:36,242 --> 00:14:42,548 MELON SAYS WHAT THEY ARE DOING DOESN'T MEET THE MAGNITUDE OF THE THREAT. >> WHAT WE NEED AT THIS POINT IS 118 00:14:42,615 --> 00:14:49,822 TO GET THE WHITE HOUSE TO PUT ALL THE KEY PLAYERS TOGETHER IN A ROOM TO IDENTIFY THE BIGGEST VULNERABILITIES AND THEN TAKE 119 00:14:49,888 --> 00:14:56,262 STEPS TO REDUCE THEM. >> I'M SURPRISED THAT'S NOT BEING DONE. >> IT'S NOT BEING DONE AND IT 120 00:14:56,328 --> 00:14:58,163 NEEDS TO HAPPEN NOW. 121 00:15:06,639 --> 00:15:14,613 >>> JUST OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD SAT A GRAND WHITE HOUSE CALLED SHARZWOOD, SILENTLY HOLDING SECRETS FROM THE PAST, 122 00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:21,053 WAITING FOR NEW OWNER TO UNCOVER THEM. SOUNDS LIKE THE OPENING LINE OF A SOUTHERN GOTHIC NOVEL. 123 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:29,561 BUT AS WE FIRST REPORTED IN MAY, THIS STORY IS ABOUT A REAL FAMILY AND A REAL HOUSE. THIS COUNTRY'S HISTORY AND A MAN 124 00:15:29,628 --> 00:15:37,536 WHO FOUND HIMSELF AT THE CENTER OF FAR MORE THAN HE HAD BARGAINED FOR. THE MAN IS FRED MILLER, A 125 00:15:37,603 --> 00:15:45,177 56-YEAR-OLD AIR FORCE VETERAN WHO WAS LOOKING TO BUY PROPERTY IN HIS VIRGINIA HOMETOWN FOR HIS LARGE EXTENDED FAMILY'S FREQUENT 126 00:15:45,244 --> 00:15:53,285 GET TOGETHERS. HE NEVER HEARD THE NAME SHARSWOOD YET THIS OLD HOUSE WOULD LEAD HIM ON A JOURNEY OF 127 00:15:53,352 --> 00:16:02,695 DISCOVERY WITH SURPRISES AND REVELATIONS THAT SEEMED BOTH IMPOSSIBLE AND INEVITABLE ALL AT ONCE. 128 00:16:02,761 --> 00:16:10,669 >> THESE ARE THE GENTLE HILLS OF PENNSYLVANIA COUNTY, VIRGINIA. QUIET, RURAL FARM COUNTRY NEAR THE NORTH CAROLINA BORDER THAT 129 00:16:10,736 --> 00:16:19,978 ONCE PRODUCED MORE TOBACCO THAN ANY COUNTY IN THE STATE. >> WE'RE GOING TO GATHER. >> FRED MILLER GREW UP HERE IN A 130 00:16:20,045 --> 00:16:29,288 CLOSE FAMILY THAT LIKES GETTING TOGETHER REGULARLY FOR BIRTHDAYS, FISH FRIES, AND AS HIS COUSIN ADAM MILLER TOLD US, 131 00:16:29,355 --> 00:16:34,927 JUST ABOUT ANYTHING. >> WE PLAY GAMES. WE DO LIKE A LOT OF FOOD COMPETITIONS. 132 00:16:34,993 --> 00:16:40,966 >> I HEAR THE FOOD IS MAINLY CAKE. >> YEAH. >> TOO MANY CAKES. 133 00:16:41,033 --> 00:16:52,478 >> FRED'S COUSIN TANYA MILLER POPE AND HIS SISTER DEBORAH KOHL'S TOWLELD US IT'S A BIG FAMILY. 134 00:16:52,544 --> 00:16:57,449 BETTY AND BRENDA WERE TWO OF 11. >> HOW MANY COUSINS? >> OH, MAN. TOO MANY. 135 00:16:57,516 --> 00:17:04,056 >> AT LEAST 100. >> SO NOWONDER FRED NEEDED TO FD THIS HOUSE? >> EXACTLY. 136 00:17:04,123 --> 00:17:12,731 >> FRED LIVES IN CALIFORNIA WHERE HE WORKS AS A CIVIL ENGINEER FOR THE AIR FORCE. BUT HE VISITS THE FAMILY IN 137 00:17:12,798 --> 00:17:18,036 VIRGINIA OFTEN. >> ONE DAY OUT OF THE BLUE, MY SISTER TOLD ME ABOUT A BIG HOUSE UP THE ROAD FOR SALE. 138 00:17:18,103 --> 00:17:23,308 >> THIS SISTER? >> YEAH. >> KAREN DIXON REXROD, FRED'S BABY SISTER, HAD SPOTTED IT. 139 00:17:23,375 --> 00:17:28,881 >> ME AND MY MOM WERE RIDING PAST THE HOUSE. I SAW THE FOR SALE SIGN. I SAID OH, MY GOODNESS. 140 00:17:28,947 --> 00:17:34,586 WE HAVE TO GET THIS HOUSE. I CALLED FRED. FRED, THIS HOUSE IS FOR SALE. HE SAID WHAT HOUSE? 141 00:17:34,653 --> 00:17:43,061 YOU KNOW, THE HOUSE. THE SCARY HOUSE. I CALL IT. >> THE SCARY HOUSE WAS LESS THAN 142 00:17:43,128 --> 00:17:48,901 A MILE UP THE ROAD FROM THEIR MOM'S. THEY PASSED IT EVERY DAY AS KIDS ON THEIR WAY TO SCHOOL. 143 00:17:48,967 --> 00:17:54,106 WHAT DID YOU KNOW ABOUT SHARSWOOD? >> ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. >> NOTHING. 144 00:17:54,173 --> 00:17:59,378 >> JUST KNEW IT WAS A HOUSE. >> A BIG HOUSE. >> HE WAS DEBATING SHOULD WE PUT IN A BID FOR IT? 145 00:17:59,445 --> 00:18:06,718 I SAID YES, ABSOLUTELY. LET'S DO IT. >> DID SHE TWIST YOUR ARM? >> I DIDN'T WANT TO BUY IT. 146 00:18:06,785 --> 00:18:16,195 >> BUT THINKING HIS BID WOULD BE REJECTED ANYWAY, HE MADE AN OFFER OF JUST ABOVE THE $220,000 ASKING PRICE. 147 00:18:16,261 --> 00:18:22,201 >> WHY DID YOU THINK THEY WEREN'T GOING TO ACCEPT THE OFFER? >> WELL, I MEAN, I'M NOT -- I 148 00:18:22,267 --> 00:18:27,105 THOUGHT BECAUSE I WAS BLACK THEY WOULD NEVER, SURELY WOULD NEVER SELL THIS HOUSE TO SOMEONE THAT IS BLACK. 149 00:18:27,172 --> 00:18:31,777 SO FOR US TO BE ABLE TO OWN THIS THING, I THOUGHT IT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN. IN A MILLION YEARS. 150 00:18:31,844 --> 00:18:37,182 >> SO GUESS WHAT HAPPENED? >> A MILLION YEARS. >> A MILLION YEARS. >>Y. 151 00:18:37,249 --> 00:18:46,859 YES. ABSOLUTELY. >> WE ALWAYS SAW THIS HOUSE -- FORCE ZBLORS SO-- MAY OF 152 00:18:46,925 --> 00:18:53,765 SO FRED PURCHASED THE FULLY FURNISHED HOUSE AND 10 1/2 ACRES OF LAND FROM THE THOMPSONS WHO OWNED IT SINCE 1917. 153 00:18:53,832 --> 00:18:59,037 >> THE FIRST TIME I DROVE UP TO THE PLACE, ALL I COULD DO IS STOP AT THE EDGE OF THE ROAD AND JUST LOOK UP. 154 00:18:59,104 --> 00:19:03,108 IN AMAZEMENT. WOW. THIS IS MINE. >> THIS IS AN ORIGINAL ROOM FROM 155 00:19:03,175 --> 00:19:10,782 THE 1800s. >> KAREN SAYS SHE GOT OBSESSED WITH THE HOUSE. SPENDING NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS 156 00:19:10,849 --> 00:19:16,855 ONLINE RESEARCHING THE SECRETS. >> HIDING SPOT. THEY SAY IT WAS FROM THE CIVIL WAR. 157 00:19:16,922 --> 00:19:22,928 SO THEY WOULD HIDE THE VALUABLES. >> SECRET HIDING SPOT. >> SHE DISCOVERED THE HOUSE HAD 158 00:19:22,995 --> 00:19:32,304 BEEN BUILT AROUND 1850 IN THE GOTHIC REVIVAL STYLE BY A WELL KNOWN NEW YORK ARCHITECT. AND SHE LEARNED AND TOLD HER 159 00:19:32,371 --> 00:19:38,710 FAMILY THAT ITS NAME HAD BEEN SHARSWOOD. >> EVERY DAY SINCE CALLING ME WITH NEW INFORMATION, I'M LIKE 160 00:19:38,777 --> 00:19:44,683 MY GOODNESS, OKAY. RELAX. >> ARE YOU EXAGGERATING? >> NO. 161 00:19:44,750 --> 00:19:56,194 >> BUT THEN KAREN TURNED UP SOMETHING THAT STUNNED HER. IN THE 1800s, SHARSWOOD HAD BEEN THE SEAT OF A MAJOR 1300 ACRE 162 00:19:56,261 --> 00:20:01,833 PLANTATION, ONE OF THE LARGER ONES IN THE COUNTY. WHAT DID YOU THINK OF YOU OWNING A PLANTATION? 163 00:20:01,900 --> 00:20:07,940 >> I WAS A LITTLE BIT -- A LITTLE SHOCKED BY IT, I WOULD SAY. BECAUSE I JUST WANTED SOMEWHERE 164 00:20:08,006 --> 00:20:17,516 TO HAVE FAMILY GATHERINGS. >> WHEN I FOUND OUT THAT IT WAS A PLANTATION AND THEN I'M LIKE OKAY, FRED JUST BOUGHT A 165 00:20:17,583 --> 00:20:24,656 PLANTATION? WHAT WE GOING TO DO? IT WAS JUST A FEELING OF POWER. IT WAS JUST A POWERFUL FEELING. 166 00:20:24,723 --> 00:20:32,798 >> IT IS. >> POWERFUL BUT, OF COURSE, PLANTATION IMPLIES SLAVERY. AND BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR, 167 00:20:32,864 --> 00:20:41,506 PENNSYLVANIA COUNTY HELD MORE THAN 14,000 ENSLAVED PEOPLE. THE STATE OF VIRGINIA JUST UNDER 500,000. 168 00:20:41,573 --> 00:20:48,146 >> I SAID DO YOU REALIZE WHAT THIS IS? THEY DIDN'T HAVE A CLUE. >> DEXTER MILLER, ONE OF FRED 169 00:20:48,213 --> 00:20:57,422 AND KAREN'S MANY SECOND CUOUSIN KNEW SOMETHING ABOUT SHARSWOOD BECAUSE YEARS AGO HE WAS CO-WORKERS WITH BILL THOMPSON 170 00:20:57,489 --> 00:21:04,296 WHOSE FAMILY THEN OWNED IT. BILL JOINED US FOR A CONVERSATION ON WHAT USED TO BE HIS CHILDHOOD PORCH. 171 00:21:04,363 --> 00:21:10,602 >> YOU GREW UP IN THIS HOUSE? >> I DID. THIS WAS MY HOME. >> HE INHERITED MUCH OF THE 172 00:21:10,669 --> 00:21:17,976 FARMLAND AND STILL LIVES UP THE ROAD. HIS SISTER INHERITED THE HOUSE AND SOLD IT TO FRED. 173 00:21:18,043 --> 00:21:26,451 YOU KNOW WHEN FRED WAS BUYING THE HOUSE, HE DID NOT THINK THAT THE HOUSE WOULD BE SOLD TO A BLACK PERSON. 174 00:21:26,518 --> 00:21:33,759 >> WELL, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT'S -- WE'RE IN RURAL VIRGINIA, RIGHT? >> THIS IS TRUE. 175 00:21:33,825 --> 00:21:43,368 >> FOR YEARS DEXTER AND ANOTHER SECOND COUSIN SONYA MIRANDA HAD BEEN TRYING TO PIECE TOGETHER THE MILLER FAMILY'S ORIGINS. 176 00:21:43,435 --> 00:21:52,377 A NOTORIOUSLY DIFFICULT TASK FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS BECAUSE RECORDS ARE HARD TO COME BY, ESPECIALLY BEFORE 1865. 177 00:21:52,444 --> 00:22:00,252 IT REALLY WAS A HOBBY. >> IT WAS ADDICTIVE. IT WAS ADDICTIVE. IT REALLY WAS. 178 00:22:00,318 --> 00:22:04,623 >> WE WERE LIKE PRIVATE Is. >> THEY WERE ABLE TO TRACE THE WHOLE MILLER CLAN BACK TO ONE WOMAN. 179 00:22:04,690 --> 00:22:13,632 >> IT'S DEXTER'S GREAT GRANDMOTHER IS MY GREAT, GREAT GRANDMOTHER SARAH. >> STAARAH MILLER. 180 00:22:13,699 --> 00:22:21,473 >> THEY FOUND A PICTURE OF SARAH MILLER. >> THIS IS SAYER YOO RIGHT HERE. >> THEY GOT AHEHOLD OF HER DEAT 181 00:22:21,540 --> 00:22:27,646 CERTIFICATE WHICH SHOWN SHE WAS BORN IN PENNSYLVANIA COUNTY IN 1868, THREE YEARS AFTER THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR. 182 00:22:27,713 --> 00:22:37,889 AND THEY FOUND AN EVEN BETTER RESOURCE, ONE OF THEIR OLDEST LIVING RELATIVES, A BELOVED FORMER SCHOOLTEACHER NAMED 183 00:22:37,956 --> 00:22:44,963 MARIANNE KEYS. MISS KEYS AS EVERYONE CALLS HER RECENTLY TURNED 90. SARAH MILLER IS THE MAY TREE ARK 184 00:22:45,030 --> 00:22:49,668 OF THE FAMILY. >> YES, SHE WAS. >> DID YOU KNOW HER? >> YES, I DID. 185 00:22:49,735 --> 00:22:55,774 >> WELL, TELL US ABOUT HER. >> SHE WOULD ALWAYS BE OUT THERE WITH A BROOM IN HER HAND AND SHE WOULD BE WAITING FOR US. 186 00:22:55,841 --> 00:23:04,382 >> MARIANNE KEYS REMEMBERS HER GREAT GRANDMOTHER SARAH AS A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH. WHAT SHE WANTED YOU TO KNOW, YOU 187 00:23:04,449 --> 00:23:10,756 WERE GOING TO KNOW IT. >> WAS SHE PER SNIK ETY? >> YES. >> STERN? 188 00:23:10,822 --> 00:23:14,760 >> VERY. VERY. SHE DIDN'T PLAY. SHE DIDN'T PLAY. 189 00:23:14,826 --> 00:23:21,066 BUT WE LOVED HER. >> BUT THAT'S WHERE MISS KEYS' KNOWLEDGE OF MILLER FAMILY HISTORY ENDED. 190 00:23:21,133 --> 00:23:28,807 SHE DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE GENERATIONS BEFORE EMANCIPATION. WHEN YOU WERE GROWING UP, WHAT 191 00:23:28,874 --> 00:23:34,246 DID YOU LEARN OR HEAR FROM YOUR PARENTS ABOUT SLAVERY? >> NOTHING. >> NOTHING? 192 00:23:34,312 --> 00:23:42,487 >> NOTHING. THEY DID NOT TALK ABOUT IT. I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THEY WERE AFRAID TOO, PAINFUL OR MISERABLE 193 00:23:42,554 --> 00:23:46,324 OR FORGET IT. I DON'T KNOW. BUT THEY DID NOT TALK TO US ABOUT IT AT ALL. 194 00:23:46,391 --> 00:23:52,731 AND WE DIDN'T ASK THEM QUESTIONS ABOUT IT. >> WHY NOT? >> WE WERE AFRAID TO. 195 00:23:52,798 --> 00:24:00,405 >> WE HEARD THAT AGAIN AND AGAIN FROM MEMBERS OF THE MILLER FAMILY. >> SLAVERY WAS NOT MENTIONED AT 196 00:24:00,472 --> 00:24:06,611 ALL. >> WAS THERE ALMOST A CODE? WE DON'T TALK ABOUT SLAVERY SO NOBODY DID? 197 00:24:06,678 --> 00:24:15,253 >> IT WAS SOMETHING THAT EVERY BLACK PERSON KNEW YOU DIDN'T TALK ABOUT. THE PARENTS WOULD TELL YOU NOT 198 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:20,859 TO DISCUSS GROWN PEOPLE BUSINESS. THAT'S WHAT THEY'LL TELL YOU. >> THE FIRST TIME SLAVERY WAS 199 00:24:20,926 --> 00:24:29,434 DISCUSSED, I GUESS IN, THE '70s WHEN EYE OI WHEN "ROOTS CAME. >> WHEN IT WAS ON TELEVISION? 200 00:24:29,501 --> 00:24:31,670 >> YEAH. >> DID YOU READ ABOUT IT IN SCHOOL? >> NOT MUCH. 201 00:24:31,736 --> 00:24:38,276 >> HIS FAMILY ALSO REMEMBERS "ROOTS" AS PIVOTAL? >> YES. I THINK THAT IS -- 202 00:24:38,343 --> 00:24:46,284 THAT'S WHEN WE ALL -- THAT WAS AN EYEOPENER. >> BUT EVEN AFTER "ROOTS," YOU DIDN'T SAY WHAT ABOUT OUR 203 00:24:46,351 --> 00:24:49,688 FAMILY? >> NO. >> WHAT HELD YOU BACK? >> I JUST DIDN'T THINK THEY 204 00:24:49,754 --> 00:24:53,692 WANTED TO TALK ABOUT IT. >> DIDN'T YOU WANT TO KNOW? >> I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO HAVE KNOWN. 205 00:24:53,758 --> 00:24:59,898 I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO HAVE KNOWN. >> FRED'S PURCHASE OF SHARSWOOD WAS ABOUT TO GIVE HIM A CRASH 206 00:24:59,965 --> 00:25:06,671 COURSE IN HIS HOMETOWN SLAVERY ROOTS. IT STARTED WITH A CALL FROM TWO ARCHAEOLOGISTS WHO WANTED TO 207 00:25:06,738 --> 00:25:15,313 COME DO RESEARCH. >> WE'RE PRESERVATIONISTS. WE START FROM THE IDEA THAT THESE PLACES MATTER. 208 00:25:15,380 --> 00:25:22,787 >> DENNIS POPE ONCE WORKED AT MOUNT VERNON. DOUG SANFORD AT MONTICELLO. THEY ASKED IF THEY COULD COME 209 00:25:22,854 --> 00:25:29,394 EXPLORE SHARSWOOD. BUT THEY WERE NOT INTERESTED IN THE ORNATE HOUSE DESIGNED BY THAT FAMOUS ARCHITECT. 210 00:25:29,461 --> 00:25:37,102 WHAT THEY CARED ABOUT WAS THE DILAPIDATED BUILDING WITH THE TIN ROOF PAST THE BIG OAK TREE BEHIND IT. 211 00:25:37,168 --> 00:25:44,943 THEY SUSPECTED IT HAD ONCE BEEN SLAVE QUARTERS. >> THERE WERE ONCE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF THESE BUILDINGS. 212 00:25:45,010 --> 00:25:54,920 THESE WERE THE MOST COMMON TYPES OF ARCHITECTURE IN FROMVIRGINIA. >> BUT NOW THE BUILDINGS ARE RARE WITH FEWER THAN 1500 213 00:25:54,986 --> 00:26:04,696 BELIEVED TO BE STILL STANDING. AND POEG AND SANFORD START AID PROJECT TO SEARCH FOR THEM. >> THE ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR -- 214 00:26:04,763 --> 00:26:10,702 >> FRED AND KAREN INVITED THIS EM TO COME INVESTIGATE. THEY EXAMINED, MEASURED, AND SEARCHED FOR CLUES. 215 00:26:10,769 --> 00:26:15,073 >> YOU CAN SEE THE SIDE. >> THEY SHOWED US SOME OF WHAT THEY FOUND. >> THESE ARE THE KIND OF NAILS 216 00:26:15,140 --> 00:26:23,081 THAT WE EXPECT TO SEE ON BUILDINGS BEFORE 1800. HANDMADE. RAW NAILS. 217 00:26:23,148 --> 00:26:29,387 >> HANDMADE. >> YOU CAN SEE THE HAMMER STROKES ON THE HEAD. >> THIIS THIS THE ORIGINAL SIDI? 218 00:26:29,454 --> 00:26:35,894 >> REMNANTS, ABSOLUTELY. >> THEY WORKED FROM NOON TO DUSK. AND FINALLY GAVE KAREN AND FRED 219 00:26:35,961 --> 00:26:42,267 THEIR CONCLUSION. >> IT HAS A COMPLEX HISTORY BUT WE THINK PART OF THAT HISTORY, A BIG PART OF THAT HISTORY WAS 220 00:26:42,334 --> 00:26:49,874 QUARTER FOR ENSLAVED FOLKS. >> THEY SAY IT'S ONE OF THE BEST PRESERVED THEY'VE SEEN. THEY BELIEVE IT WAS ORIGINALLY 221 00:26:49,941 --> 00:26:56,881 BUILT IN THE LATE 1700s AS A HOUSE FOR A WHITE FAMILY. >> THAT'S WHERE THE ORIGINAL DOOR WAS. 222 00:26:56,948 --> 00:27:04,389 >> AND WAS LATER DIVIDED INTO TWO SEPARATE SINGLE ROOM SLAVE DWELLINGS. TWO FAMILIES. 223 00:27:04,456 --> 00:27:09,928 >> YEAH. ONE HOUSEHOLD HERE AND ANOTHER ENSLAVED HOUSEHOLD THERE. >> JUST SHOWED IT WAS TWO 224 00:27:09,995 --> 00:27:15,767 DIFFERENT WORLDS. BEAUTIFUL ONE HERE AND LAVISH AND YOU GO RIGHT BEHIND THE HOUSE AND A WHOLE DIFFERENT 225 00:27:15,834 --> 00:27:20,672 STORY. IT'S KIND OF CRAZY FOR ME. JUST EVEN WALK AROUND OUT THERE. >> DO YOU OWN THAT? 226 00:27:20,739 --> 00:27:29,748 DO YOU OWN THE SLAVE HOUSE TOO? >> I OWN THE SLAVE HOUSE, I DO. THAT'S MINE. >> WOW. 227 00:27:29,814 --> 00:27:35,453 >> FRED MILLER'S PURCHASE CONTINUES TO SURPRISE HIS FAMILY AND INTRIGUE HISTORIANS. WH WE COME BACK. 228 00:27:49,501 --> 00:27:57,876 >>> WHEN FRED MILLER UNWITTINGLY PURCHASED WHAT HE NOW KNOWS TO BE THE SHARSWOOD PLANTATION SHOUSE WITH SLAVE QUARTERS JUST 229 00:27:57,942 --> 00:28:03,815 BEHIND IT, HE KNEW VERTLY NOTHING ABOUT HIS OWN FAMILY HISTORY. HE HAD ALWAYS ASSUMED HIS 230 00:28:03,882 --> 00:28:11,923 ANCESTORS HAD BEEN ENSLAVED. BUT IT FELT TO HIM LIKE AN UNKNOWABLE PART OF A DISTANT PAST. 231 00:28:11,990 --> 00:28:18,296 LEARNING ABOUT HIS GREAT GRANDMOTHER SARAH MILLER WHOM HIS MOTHER HAD KNOWN AS A CHILD POOIK 232 00:28:18,363 --> 00:28:24,102 PIQUED HIS INTEREST. SO WHEN HE FOUND OUT HER HOUSE WAS STILL STAPDING A FEW MILES AWAY FROM SHARSWOOD, HE ASKED 233 00:28:24,169 --> 00:28:31,676 HIS MOTHER BETTY DIXON TO GO THERE WITH HIM. >> WE'RE GOING TO WALK HERE. >> BETTY'S GRANDMOTHER SARAH HAD 234 00:28:31,743 --> 00:28:39,150 BEEN THE FIRST OF THEIR ANCESTORS TO BE BORN INTO FREEDOM SHORTLY AFTER THE CIVIL WAR. 235 00:28:39,217 --> 00:28:45,957 >> THAT WAS THE CABIN. THEY DIDN'T HAVE NO LIGHT. >> BETTY REMEMBERS VISITING AND SPENDING THE NIGHT HERE WITH HER 236 00:28:46,024 --> 00:28:54,599 GRANDMOTHER AND COUSINS. >> WHOA. IS THIS ONE ROOM? >> SARAH'S HOUSE DIDN'T LOOK 237 00:28:54,666 --> 00:29:01,940 MUCH BIGGER THAN THE SLAVE DWELLING. JUST A SINGLE ROOM WITH A SMALLER ONE ABOVE IT AND NO 238 00:29:02,006 --> 00:29:07,479 INDOOR PLUMBING. >> COME A LONG WAY. >> SURE DID. >> GLAD I DIDN'T HAVE TO LIVE IN 239 00:29:07,545 --> 00:29:11,950 HERE. >> WELL, YOU HAD TO MAKE IT WORK. >> YOU WANT A PIECE OF THIS WALL 240 00:29:12,016 --> 00:29:18,123 PAPER TO TAKE WITH YOU? >> YEAH. >> HOPE THE LANDLORD DON'T SAY NOTHING. 241 00:29:18,189 --> 00:29:25,797 >> THERE YOU GO. >> SARAH MILLER IS BURIED IN THE CEMETERY OF THE CHURCH THE MILLER FAMILY STILL ATTENDS. 242 00:29:25,864 --> 00:29:33,538 >> I'M GLAD I CAN COME IN. >> BUT UNBEKNOWNst TO THIS MILLER FAMILY, JUST FIVE MILES UP THE ROAD IN A DIFFERENT 243 00:29:33,605 --> 00:29:42,814 CHURCH CEMETERY WAS A TOMBSTONE THAT ALSO READ MILLER. A FAR OLDER ONE WITH NAMES FRED AND HIS FAMILY HAD NEVER HEARD 244 00:29:42,881 --> 00:29:49,354 OF. BUT WERE ABOUT TO. IN KAREN'S SEARCH FOR INFORMATION ABOUT SHARSWOOD, SHE 245 00:29:49,420 --> 00:29:57,862 FOUND A DOCUMENT THAT MENTIONED THEM. >> IT GAVE THE NAMES OF THE ORIGINAL OWNERS WHO WERE 246 00:29:57,929 --> 00:30:02,934 NATHANIEL CRENSHAW MILL EASTERN CHARLES ATWOOD MILLER. >> MILLER? >> YES. 247 00:30:03,001 --> 00:30:08,072 MILLER. >> AND A LIGHT BULB WENT OFF? ANY WIRES CONNECT? >> NO, NO THE AT THAT POINT. 248 00:30:08,139 --> 00:30:14,712 NOT ATHAT POINT. IT DID NOT. >> OTHERS HAD US IS SPEKDED A CONNECTION BETWEEN THE TWO SETS 249 00:30:14,779 --> 00:30:22,120 OF MILLERS. >> I WAS TELLING DEXTER BACK IN '88 -- >> BILL THOMPSON SAID HE 250 00:30:22,187 --> 00:30:27,625 MENTIONED THE THOUGHT TO DEXTER 30 YEARS AGO. >> WE HAD BEEN TAUGHT IN HIGH SCHOOL WAS THAT WHEN THEY FREED 251 00:30:27,692 --> 00:30:31,629 THE SLAVES, THEY JUST TOOK THE LAST NAME OF THE PERSON THAT WAS THERE. WHICH WAS MILLER. 252 00:30:31,696 --> 00:30:37,235 >> I JUST TOLD DEXTER, GOOD CHANCE THAT YOUR ANCESTORS CAME OFF THIS FARM. >> HE DID. 253 00:30:37,302 --> 00:30:41,372 HE SAID THAT. >> SO YOU KNEW THAT THIS WAS A PLANTATION? >> I DID. 254 00:30:41,439 --> 00:30:46,344 >> WELL, FRED, YOU SAID YOU DIDN'T KNOW. >> I HAD NO IDEA. >> DEXTER, DID YOU WANT TELL 255 00:30:46,411 --> 00:30:51,616 FRED? >> I DID NOT TELL FRED. I DID NOT TELL ANYONE. >> DEXTER SAYS HE KEPT IT TO 256 00:30:51,683 --> 00:30:58,156 HIMSELF BECAUSE HE HADN'T FOUND ANY WAY TO PROVE IT. AND THAT'S WHERE THIS BECOMES A DETECTIVE STORY. 257 00:30:58,223 --> 00:31:07,765 WITH THE MILLER COUSINS NOW ON A MISSION TO FIGURE OUT WHETHER IT COULD BE POSSIBLE THAT THEIR OWN ANCESTORS MIGHT HAVE BEEN 258 00:31:07,832 --> 00:31:17,208 ENSLAVED ON THE VERY PROPERTY FRED NOW OWNED. THE FIRST STEP WAS FIGURING OUT WHO THEIR LAST ENSLAVED 259 00:31:17,275 --> 00:31:24,782 ANCESTORS WERE. AND SARAH MILLER'S DEATH CERTIFICATE HELD THE ANSWER. THE NAMES OF HER PARENTS, DAVID 260 00:31:24,849 --> 00:31:31,956 AND VIOLET MILLER, WHO WOULD HAVE BEEN ADULTS AT THE TIME OF EMANCIPATION. DID YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT 261 00:31:32,023 --> 00:31:37,662 THEM? >> NOT AT ALL. NOT AT ALL. >> I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT 262 00:31:37,729 --> 00:31:43,301 THEM. >> EVEN MARIANNE KEYS WHO KNEW SARAH MILLER HAD NEVER HEARD THEIR NAMES. 263 00:31:43,368 --> 00:31:50,375 >> NOTHING. >> WOW. >> SURE DIDN'T. >> I JUST -- I WANT EVERYBODY TO 264 00:31:50,441 --> 00:31:56,147 KNOW. >> ENTER A LOCAL HISTORIAN AND GENEALOGIST. KAREN REACHED OUT TO HER TO SEE 265 00:31:56,214 --> 00:32:05,223 IF SHE COULD HELP. >> ONE OF THE SPECIAL CHALLENGES LOOKING FOR AN VESTORS OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS? 266 00:32:05,290 --> 00:32:12,730 >> THEY WERE NOT LISTED BY NAME UNTIL THE 1870 CENSUS. SO BEFORE THAT, THEY WERE JUST A NUMBER. 267 00:32:12,797 --> 00:32:20,271 IF THEY WERE ENSLAVED, THEY WERE NOT LISTED AT ALL? >> AT ALL. SO REALLY, YOU'RE JUST LOOKING 268 00:32:20,338 --> 00:32:28,513 FOR ANY TYPES OF TIPS AND CLUES YOU CAN. >> SHE STARTED BY LOOKING AT 1860 RECORDS FOR SHARSWOOD'S 269 00:32:28,579 --> 00:32:35,553 THEN OWNER NC FOR NATHANIEL CRENSHAW MILLER. >> RIGHT THERE. >> YEAH. 270 00:32:35,620 --> 00:32:46,698 HE HAD 58 SLAVES. >> BUT WITH ONLY AGE AND GENDER LISTED -- >> YOU HAVE ENSLAVED PEOPLE 69, 271 00:32:46,764 --> 00:32:53,638 44, 34, AND NOT A SINGLE NAME. >> NO NAMES. >> THERE WAS NO WAY OF KNOWING WHETHER VIE LOT AND DAVID WERE 272 00:32:53,705 --> 00:33:00,345 AMONG THEM H VIOLET AND DAVID WERE AMONG THEM. SO SHE LOOKED UP DAVID AND VIOLET MILLER IN THE 1870 273 00:33:00,411 --> 00:33:09,787 CENSUS, THE FIRST ONE AFTER THE CIVIL WAR WHERE THEY FINALLY APPEARED BY NAME. IT SHOWED THEY WERE FARM HANDS, 274 00:33:09,854 --> 00:33:18,196 THAT THEY COULDN'T READ OR WRITE, AND IT LISTED THEIR CHILDREN INCLUDING AS SHE SHOWED US A VERY YOUNG SARAH MILLER. 275 00:33:18,262 --> 00:33:24,268 >> THERE IS SARAH. SHE'S 1 YEARS OLD. >> 1 YEAR OLD. >> AND THIS LOOKS LIKE EMILY. 276 00:33:24,335 --> 00:33:29,207 >> YEAH. SHE'S 3. >> AND HERE'S SAMUEL. >> YEAH. 277 00:33:29,273 --> 00:33:39,450 >> HE'S 5. >> TO HER THAT, MEANT SAMUEL, SARAH'S OLDER BROTHER, WAS BORN BEFORE EMANCIPATION. 278 00:33:39,517 --> 00:33:49,427 SO SHE SEARCHED FOR HIM IN THE VIRGINIA SLAVE BIRTH INDEX WHERE SLAVE OWNERS HAD TO LIST BIRTHS ON THEIR PROPERTY. 279 00:33:49,494 --> 00:33:55,666 >> THIS DOCUMENT AND THERE UNDER N.C. MILLER'S NAME -- >> N.C. >> RIGHT. 280 00:33:55,733 --> 00:34:01,005 >> TLHERE IS SAMUEL. >> THERE IS SAMUEL. LOOK AT THAT. >> OH, MY GOSH. 281 00:34:01,072 --> 00:34:08,913 >> LIST VIOLET AS HIS MOTHER. >> THE GENEALOGY EQUIVALENT OF A SMOKING GUN. >> SO THIS IS PROOF OF THAT 282 00:34:08,980 --> 00:34:19,090 VIOLET, SARAH'S MOTHER, WAS ENSLAVED BY N.C. MILLER. AND THIS IS ABSOLUTE PROOF? >> THIS IS ABSOLUTE DEFINITE 283 00:34:19,157 --> 00:34:29,434 PROOF. >> AND YOU WERE ABLE TO TELL KAREN THAT HER ANCESTORS, DAVID AND VIOLET, WERE ENSLAVED AT 284 00:34:29,500 --> 00:34:34,539 SHARSWOOD. THAT WAS TOUGH. >> SO DID YOU CALL FRED? >> I DID. 285 00:34:34,605 --> 00:34:46,017 I DON'T THINK HE BELIEVED ME. >> I DIDN'T BELIEVE HER. >> SO THE CONNECTION SUDDENLY IS MADE YOUR FAMILY SLAVERY IN THIS 286 00:34:46,083 --> 00:34:53,191 HOUSE. >> THIS HOUSE. >> AND YOU OWN IT. >> ONCE I REALIZE IT WAS 287 00:34:53,257 --> 00:34:58,629 ACTUALLY MY BLOOD, IT TOOK ON A WHOLE NEW MEANING. IT REALLY SADDENS ME SOMETIMES WHEN I, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF TIMES 288 00:34:58,696 --> 00:35:03,468 I'M OKAY. BUT NOW I'M UP IN THE WEE HOURS OF THE NIGHT KNOWING WHAT HAPPENED HERE. 289 00:35:03,534 --> 00:35:11,108 >> AS NEWS SPREAD THROUGH THE FAMILY, THERE WAS SADNESS. BUT THAT'S NOT ALL THERE WAS. >> I ALMOST FEEL LIKE I WAS 290 00:35:11,175 --> 00:35:14,345 LOSING MY LOSING BREATH FOR A MOMENT. IT IS ALMOST A FEELING OF BEING FOUND. 291 00:35:14,412 --> 00:35:22,186 >> YES. >> THIS IS WHERE I STARTED. AND AS BLACK PEOPLE, WE DON'T ALWAYS KNOW WHERE WE STARTED. 292 00:35:22,253 --> 00:35:32,163 >> SO HERE WE ARE SITTING IN THIS HOUSE. >> I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. THAT I'M IN THE PLANTATION 293 00:35:32,230 --> 00:35:38,202 HOUSE. THE PLANTATION THAT MY FAMILY WAS ENSLAVED. >> YOU'RE LAUGHING AS IF THIS 294 00:35:38,269 --> 00:35:42,773 CANNOT BE TRUE. >> CANNOT BE. THAT'S RIGHT. BUT IT IS. 295 00:35:42,840 --> 00:35:50,982 >> I FELT -- I FEEL COMPLETE. >> WOW. >> I'M NOT HALF OF A HUMAN BEING ANYMORE. 296 00:35:51,048 --> 00:36:01,893 THEY MAKE ME WHOLE. EVEN IF I DON'T KNOW THEM. I FELT A CONNECTION TO AT SHARSWOOD. 297 00:36:01,959 --> 00:36:10,468 >> I HUGGED THE TREE. AND I SAID OH, MY GOD. YOU WERE HERE WHERE MY ANCESTORS WERE HERE. 298 00:36:10,535 --> 00:36:20,344 I WONDER WHICH ANCESTOR OF MINE TOUCHED THE TREE. I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY OR DO. I JUST HUGGED THE TREE. 299 00:36:20,411 --> 00:36:27,852 AND FELT LIKE I'M HOME. >> HE SHARED THE NEWS WITH BILL THOMPSON WHO HAD THAT HUNCH ALL THOSE YEARS AGO. 300 00:36:27,919 --> 00:36:36,193 >> I LOOK AT IT THAT I HAD BEEN A SERVANT TO THIS FARM AND THIS HOUSE. MY WHOLE LIFE. 301 00:36:36,260 --> 00:36:43,634 AND FOR THE MILLER FAMILY TO COME BACK HOME TO MY HOME, OUR HOME -- >> OUR HOME, ABSOLUTELY. 302 00:36:43,701 --> 00:36:48,339 >> IS GREAT. IT'S A CELEBRATION OF COMING HOME. >> YOU NEVER HEARD ANYTHING LIKE 303 00:36:48,406 --> 00:36:51,943 THIS. >> NO. >> YEAH. >> SO A NUMBER OF PLANTATION 304 00:36:52,009 --> 00:36:59,784 PROPERTIES LIKE MOUNT VERNON AND MONTICELLO HAVE ESTABLISHED RELATIONS OF THE SLAVE. THERE BUT TO ACTUALLY SEE THOSE 305 00:36:59,850 --> 00:37:08,025 DESCENDENTS COME TO OWN THAT PLANTATION PROPERTY, WOW. >> THIS IS GOD. THIS IS WHERE WE'RE SUPPOSED TO 306 00:37:08,092 --> 00:37:11,429 BE. IT'S LIKE A FULL CIRCLE. LIKE IT WAS MEANT TO HAPPEN. >> ABSOLUTELY. 307 00:37:11,495 --> 00:37:18,469 >> TO ME, IT WAS MEANT TO HAPPEN. >> THE MILLERS ALSO SEE THE HAND OF THEIR ANCESTORS IN ALL OF 308 00:37:18,536 --> 00:37:26,477 THIS. >> I THINK THEY HAD TO BE. BECAUSE I DID EVERYTHING -- I DID EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO 309 00:37:26,544 --> 00:37:38,255 NOT MAKE IT HAPPENED. I TRIED TO MESS IT UP. >> BUT THOSE AN SCESTORS HAD ON MORE SURPRISE IN STORE. 310 00:37:38,322 --> 00:37:44,762 WITH ALL THE REVELATIONS, THERE IS ONE QUESTION THAT CONTINUED TO NAH AT DEXTER. WHERE WERE HIS ENSLAVED 311 00:37:44,829 --> 00:37:51,636 ANCESTORS BURIED? SO JUST THIS WINTER HE ASKED BILL. >> I SAID, BILL, IS ONE QUESTION 312 00:37:51,702 --> 00:37:59,076 THAT HAS BEEN BOTHERING ME. WHERE IS THE SLAVE CEMETERY? HE SAID DEXTER, IT'S RIGHT OVER THERE. 313 00:37:59,143 --> 00:38:04,281 I SAID RIGHT OVER WHERE? HE SAID YOU SEE THE TREES OVER THERE? >> SO DID YOU JUST GO RIGHT UP 314 00:38:04,348 --> 00:38:11,555 THERE -- >> WE WENT RIGHT UP THERE. >> THE TREES BILL THOMPSON POINTED TO JUST BEYOND FRED'S 315 00:38:11,622 --> 00:38:19,163 PROPERTY SURE DIDN'T LOOK LIKE A CEMETERY. THAT IS UNTIL YOU START TO LOOK CLOSELY. 316 00:38:19,230 --> 00:38:22,500 IS THAT ONE OF THEM? >> THAT'S ONE OF THEM RIGHT THERE. >> OH, MY GOSH. 317 00:38:22,566 --> 00:38:29,507 >> YOU CAN SEE, THIS IS THE IN INDENGS. THIS IS A HEAD STONE AND A FOOT STONE. 318 00:38:29,573 --> 00:38:36,714 THERE IS ALWAYS ONE. THERE IS ONE THERE, ABSOLUTELY. >> POKING UP THROUGH THE LEAVES ALL AROUND US WERE POINTED 319 00:38:36,781 --> 00:38:42,987 ROCKS, SOME SMALL, SOME MEDIUM SIZED. NO NAMES. NO ENGRAVING. 320 00:38:43,054 --> 00:38:51,862 JUST PLAIN ANONYMOUS MARKERS OF MANY, MANY LIVES. >> WOW. THIS IS ASTONISHING. 321 00:38:51,929 --> 00:38:56,734 >> IT IS. >> IT'S KIND OF OVERWHELMING. >> IT IS. IT REALLY IS. 322 00:38:56,801 --> 00:39:01,939 I MEAN WE ALL LIVE IN THE SAME AREA. WE COME PAST THIS PLACE AND WE WOULD NOT KNOW THAT OUR 323 00:39:02,006 --> 00:39:08,312 ANCESTORS WERE RIGHT THERE BESIDE US THE ENTIRE TIME. >> FRED, IF YOU DIDN'T BUY THAT HOUSE -- 324 00:39:08,379 --> 00:39:11,215 >> YOU'RE RIGHT. >> IF I DIDN'T BUY THAT HOUSE, WE WOULD NEVER KNOW. >> NEVER. 325 00:39:11,282 --> 00:39:18,489 >> NEVER. >> SO HOW HAS ALL OF THIS AFFECTED YOU? >> IT'S CHANGED ME. 326 00:39:18,556 --> 00:39:24,695 IT'S DEFINITELY CHANGED ME. >> THE WERE YOU EVER ANGRY SFWH. >> A LITTLE BIT OF THAT SOMETIMES WHEN I FIND OUT THINGS 327 00:39:24,762 --> 00:39:28,766 I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN ALREADY. >> ANGRY AT YOURSELF? >> AT MYSELF. AND AT THE SYSTEM. 328 00:39:28,833 --> 00:39:33,637 BECAUSE I THINK THAT WE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN MORE. >> WHAT ABOUT THE SCHOOL SYSTEM? >> SHOULD HAVE KNOWN MORE. 329 00:39:33,704 --> 00:39:39,210 >> FAMILY? >> SHOULD HAVE KNOWN MORE. ABSOLUTELY. >> YOU WANT THE STORY OF SLAVERY 330 00:39:39,276 --> 00:39:44,348 TOLD? >> I WANT THE STORY OF SLAVERY TOLD. IT'S IMPORTANT. 331 00:39:44,415 --> 00:39:50,488 >> SO THIS IS CONVERTED FROM A DOOR TO A WINDOW? >> YEAH. >> FRED WANTS TO DO WHATEVER IS 332 00:39:50,554 --> 00:39:54,759 NECESSARY TO PRESERVE THE SLAVE HOUSE. >> YEAH. THIS IS THAT EXPOSED FOR 200 333 00:39:54,825 --> 00:40:00,064 YEARS. >> RIGHT. >> HE'S IN THE PROCESS OF SETTING UP A NONPROFIT TO MAKE 334 00:40:00,131 --> 00:40:04,201 THAT POSSIBLE. >> THAT'S IMPORTANT TO ME TOO. A LOT OF EMPHASIS ON THAT BIG WHITE HOUSE THERE. 335 00:40:04,268 --> 00:40:08,305 >> EXACTLY. THIS IS REALLY NEAR DEAR TO ME. >> THIS IS THE STORY. >> ABSOLUTELY. 336 00:40:08,372 --> 00:40:14,712 >> ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT -- THERE ARE EIGHT RIGHT HERE. >> AND HE'S BEEN THINKING ABOUT 337 00:40:14,779 --> 00:40:24,021 THE CEMETERY, TOO. >> I CAN IMAGINE THIS BEING SOMEONE YOUNG. >> WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT 338 00:40:24,088 --> 00:40:27,458 THIS. >> YEAH. HAVE TO. AND I WILL. 339 00:40:27,525 --> 00:40:37,101 I'M GOING TO FIX IT. >> DO YOU THINK YOU MIGHT ALLOW HI HISTORIANS TO COME AND -- >> ABSOLUTELY. 340 00:40:37,168 --> 00:40:43,941 ABSOLUTELY. THIS PLACE WILL BE OPEN TO ANYONE WHO WANTS TO LEARN. >> ANYONE? 341 00:40:44,008 --> 00:40:51,582 >> ANYONE. >> BUT FOR NOW, SHARSWOOD IS SERVING THE PURPOSE FRED BOUGHT IT FOR IN THE FIRST PLACE, 342 00:40:51,649 --> 00:41:03,694 GATHERING THE MILLER FAMILY TOGETHER IN CELEBRATION. >> HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU. 343 00:41:03,761 --> 00:41:10,768 HAPPY BIRTHDAY. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY. >> WHAT DO YOU THINK VIOLET AND 344 00:41:10,835 --> 00:41:16,974 DAVID WOULD THINK THEY COULD SEE THAT YOU OWN THIS PLACE? >> YEAH. I'M HOPING THEY WILL BE PROUD 345 00:41:17,041 --> 00:41:21,512 OF. THIS I THINK THEY WOULD BE. THEY ENDURED A LOT. I MEAN, I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE 346 00:41:21,579 --> 00:41:36,493 WHAT THEY WENT THROUGH. LOOKING DOWN ON US NOW. THEY MUST BE SMILING AT US. >> SINCE OUR STORY FIRST AIRED, 347 00:41:36,560 --> 00:41:42,499 THE MILLERS DISCOVERED EVEN MORE RELATIVES DESCENDED FROM VIOLET AND DAVID MILLER. EARLIER THIS MONTH SEVERAL 348 00:41:42,566 --> 00:41:46,437 HUNDRED FAMILY MEMBERS GATHERED AT SHARSWOOD FOR A FAMILY REUNION. 349 00:41:53,010 --> 00:42:08,525 >> WATCH THE MILLERS VISIT THE SHARSWOOD SLAVE CEMETERY FOIFRT TIME -- >> OF THIS THEM RIGHT 350 00:42:08,592 --> 00:42:09,593 >>> I'M BILL WHITAKER, WE'LL BE