Archaeological Survey of the Proposed Blue Ridge Dam Access Road Fannin County, Georgia

The Louis Berger Group, Inc., Richmond, Virginia, has completed an archaeological survey of the proposed Blue Ridge Dam access road, Fannin County, Georgia. This work was conducted on behalf of the Tennessee Valley Authority. TV A has proposed to construct a discharge outlet near the spillway of the Blue Ridge Dam that requires a new access road. The proposed access road corridor crosses the location of the late 1920s Toccoa Electric Power Company's work camp (Site 9FN 131) for the Blue Ridge Dam project. The proposed road corridor is approximately 400 meters (1 ,320 feet) long and 30 meters (100 feet) wide. The area investigated included approximately 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres).

The survey was conducted between January 22 and 24, 2002. The objective of the fieldwork was to find evidence of the work camp structures, assess the integrity of the structural remains, and recover a sample of artifacts in order to evaluate any encountered resources with respect to National Register of Historic Places criteria. The field investigations included a combination of surface reconnaissance, metal detecting, shovel testing, and the excavation of two 0.Sxl.0-meter (1.63x3.3-foot) test units.

The archaeological survey of the proposed Blue Ridge Dam access road identified evidence of five of the 11 structures that were once located in the project area. This evidence consists solely of leveled pads for three of the structures and a few artifacts. No evidence of three of the 11 structures was found owing to the presence of fill laid during the construction of Georgia State Route 76 and a parking lot. No evidence of the three other structures was found on the ground surface. Twenty-four artifacts were recovered from the 43 shovel tests and two test units, indicating a low artifact density across the site. The majority of the artifacts are nails (N=10) and glass (N=10).

The results of these investigations indicate that Site 9FN131 lacks integrity, owing to destruction of the camp structures in the 1930s; disturbance as a result of subsequent highway and parking lot construction; a lack of intact structural remains; and the absence of artifacts or features indicative of the activities that occurred at the work camp during its period of construction and occupation. Therefore, Berger recommends Site 9FN131 as not meeting the eligibility criteria for inclusion in the National Register.