Phase I Cultural Resources Survey of 3,936 acres of Property around J. Strom Thurmond Lake, McDuffie County, Georgia

This report was prepared in response to a Scope of Work for a cultural-resources survey of 3,936 acres (1,374.4 hectares) around Thurmond Lake, McDuffie County, Georgia (Contract DACW21-98-D-0019, Work Order 24) presented to Panamerican Consultants, Inc. (PCI) of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Investigations were conducted in conjunction with Gulf South Research Corporation (GSRC) for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Savannah District. This contract effort was designed to locate and assess the significance of cultural resources within the designated project area by means of an intensive cultural-resources survey. This information will in turn aid in management of timber harvesting and lake levels. The requested survey was intended to comply with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, Executive Order 11593 (Protection and Enhancement of the Cultural Environment), and the Archaeological and Historical Preservation Act of 1974 and agency-specific regulations such as ER 1130-2-540. Survey of the Thurmond Lake project area took place from April 1999 to April 2000. The project area is located within the Wildlife Management Area on the shores of Clark Hill Lake in northern McDuffie County. The 3,936 acres encompassed by the project area were divided into six tracts, all located in McDuffie County. The tracts vary in size; the smallest comprises 51 acres and is situated south of Big Creek, and the largest contains 2,622 acres north of Hart Creek. During PCI's survey of the area, the project tract was further subdivided into 32 separate survey tracts. The Scope of Work called for an intensive (i.e., 100 percent) survey augmented by the excavation of shovel tests in order to obtain a complete inventory of all significant cultural resources present and to evaluate all identified resources under criteria of the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Of the 356 loci investigated during the current survey, nine sites are recommended as potentially eligible for inclusion in the NRHP and should be avoided or investigated further. The sites recommended as potentially eligible for NRHP inclusion should be protected or otherwise treated in accordance with applicable preservation laws and regulations. Until the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers further evaluates these potentially eligible sites, these sites need to be avoided. The remaining 347 cultural loci are recommended ineligible for inclusion in the NRHP. It is the belief of PCI that these sites and isolated finds hold insufficient data to warrant further investigation and should be considered cleared for future land-use activities. Seven sites represent cemeteries or single grave sites (9MF530/545/868, 9MF856, 9MF585, 9MF687, 9MF763, 9MF814 and 9MF817) that while recommended ineligible, are protected by the USACE and should continue to be avoided. The sites recommended as potentially eligible include the following: 9MF516 (contains a cemetery), 9MF535, 9MF664/ 666/702/703, 9MF691, 9MF697, 9MF732, 9MF820, 9MF857, and 9MF879.