GRANITEVILLE, S.C. () — It’s been 20 years since the Graniteville train crash.

“It was 2:39 exactly on the clock—big screeching, bam, boom, vibration. Didn’t know what it was,” Robert Wise recalled.

Robert was in his home just yards away on January 6, 2005, when a Norfolk Southern train derailed, hitting a parked train near the Avondale Mills Plant. “I went outside, within 30 seconds or a minute, my neighbors had a scanner, they were hearing the call to evacuate,” he added.

Freight cars and gas tankers spilled, releasing chlorine gas. More than 5,000 people were evacuated, and at least nine people died. “Two weeks later and there were police from everywhere providing security for us,” Robert shared. “There were still first responders running around doing what they could do. We came back and we’ve rebuilt and we pride ourselves on being resilient.”

Years later, the area is bouncing back. Rolls-Royce, Bridgestone, and Meta are expanding here. Better World Studios is turning Hickman Hall into a creative hub. “They’re having events, looks like about three times a year now,” Robert added. “And they’re selling off some of this art. They’re letting people know what they are and who they are.”

The Graniteville Mill and Leavelle McCampbell School could be converted into housing. At Sage Creek, Robert Wise noticed a growing diversity of residents. “I asked people, “Where do y’all work?” and they said, “Everywhere—from the Army to cybersecurity to medical fields.” He added, ‘We’ve got more people coming here than we ever thought.'”

People who live in Graniteville are hoping incorporation will be part of their future. Meanwhile, a cross near the crash site and a memorial for those killed serve as reminders of the past and hopes for the future. “Just my little way of saying, ‘Hey, we haven’t forgot you, and we think about you not just once a year, but we think about y’all very often, what happened to us’.”