Cultural Resources Survey Naval Air Station Atlanta, Cobb County, Georgia

The Historic Resources Survey and NRHP Assessment of Naval Air Station (NAS) Atlanta is a comprehensive inventory of all extant properties at the federally owned reserve air station. Hardy •Heck•Moore & Myers, Inc. (HHM&M), a cultural resources management firm from Austin, Texas, prepared the report for Southern Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command (SOUTHDIV) under Contract N62467-98-D-0994, Task Order 007. Impetus for the project stems from the Navy's need for a comprehensive inventory of all its holdings, as required by Sections 106 and 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act (36 CFR Part 800). The Act instructs federal agencies to inventory properties under their stewardship and determine if they are eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The Act also mandates that federal agencies consider the effects of their actions on NRHP-eligible properties. To date, no properties within NAS Atlanta are listed in or have been determined eligible for the NRHP. A preliminary assessment, conducted in August 1993, revealed that none of the extant resources are eligible for the NRHP. However, the preliminary assessment did not consider or evaluate significance within the context of the Cold War. This study seeks to determine if any resources at the station possess exceptional significance within the Cold War context and thus qualify for listing in the NRHP. The study began with a survey of the main base and two remote sites. The field crew inventoried 139 government- owned properties associated with NAS Atlanta. Brockington and Associates, an Atlanta-based cultural resource management firm, concurrently conducted archaeological investigations on NAS Atlanta's grounds. The field survey results listed no archaeological sites recorded at NAS Atlanta and remote sites at Lake Allatoona and Windy Hill. Following completion of field investigations, HHM&M developed a historic context that examined major themes associated with the development and operation of the air station and its support structures. HHM&M then documented and evaluated each of the government-owned resources, regardless of age, condition, and use. Within the framework of the historic context, the contractor assessed the government owned properties and considered their relative significance and applicable NRHP Criteria. The contractor evaluated all of the identified properties and found that none of the resources met the recommended 50-year age threshold for NRHP eligibility; nevertheless, HHM&M considered each resources' relative significance within the context of aircraft training during the Cold War Era (1946-1991). Furthermore, all the government-owned resources, which the Navy constructed between 1952 and 1991, were also considered for any exceptional significance associated with the Cold War. All of the 139 government owned properties are recommended as ineligible for the NRHP because they lack significance or integrity and/or they do not possess exceptional significance, as defined by federal regulations.