A Cultural Resource Survey of the Proposed Bear Creek Dam and Reservoir, Douglas County, Georgia, Project Number Es-1209

The purpose of this project was to locate, identify, and assess the cultural resources to be impacted by construction of the Bear Creek Impoundment, Dam, and Reservoir in Douglas County, Georgia. This investigation was undertaken at the request of Hensley-Schmidt, Inc. in order to comply with the appropriate Federal and State of Georgia review agencies.

The project required a literature and records search to determine the nature and extent of known historical and prehistorical cultural resources in the vicinity. The cultural inventory was conducted through inspection of existing SSI file material. The files for Douglas County housed at SSI are up-to-date and consist of information from the archaeological site files of the University of Georgia and West Georgia College and the records of the State Historic Preservation Section for sites nominated to or included in the National Register of Historic Places, the Historic American Buildings Survey, and the Historic American Engineering Record. Archival investigations were conducted at the libraries of the University of Georgia and West Georgia College. The results of this research are reported in Chapters II, III, and IV.

The archaeological survey was limited to the site of the proposed reservoir which consists of the Bear Creek floodplain and upland areas below elevation 745.0. The field survey consisted of pedestrian reconnaissance and shallow subsurface testing in the uplands and deep subsurface testing with a 4-inch diameter hand-turned bucket auger in the floodplain. The results of the survey are reported in Chapter V, and the conclusions and recommendations for clearance are discussed in Chapter VI.