A Cultural Resource Reconnaissance of Specified Areas at Fort McPherson, Fort Gillem and the Forscom Recreation Area at Lake Allatoona

In order to assist the Army in fulfilling its cultural resource responsibilities pursuant to Executive Order 11.593, Coastal Zone Resources Division (CZR) of Ocean Data Systems, Inc. conducted a cultural resource reconnaissance of specified areas of Fort McPherson, Fort. Gillem, and the FORSCOM Recreation Area at Lake Allatoona. This work, conducted under Contract No. DACA21-78-C-0099 with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, was performed during October 1978 through February 1979. The literature review and agency contacts were conducted intermittently from October 1978 through January 1979. Limited field reconnaissance was performed in November 1978, and detailed field studies and final. archival research took place in January 1979. Considerable information regarding the history of the installations was compiled from CZR's first-hand knowledge of the area; from interviews with historians, architectural historians, and archaeologists knowledgeable of the area; from agency records and archival information; and from a variety of literature sources. However, no previously unidentified cultural resources were recorded during the course of the field reconnaissance. Based on the findings of the studies, CZR recommends that the geographic boundaries of the National Register District on Fort McPherson be reexamined and possibly redefined to allow greater precision in future planning activities. The proposed reexamination should address the historic archaeological component Of the district and should be of sufficient intensity to identify specific archaeological features. Building 210 (Patton Hall) at Fort McPherson was constructed in 1918 and has been identified by the Historic Preservation Section of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources as being of architectural interest. In that Patton Hall may be demolished in order to construct a larger command facility on base, CZR recommends that. the Department of the Army should seek a determination of eligibility for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places four the structure. No further compliance with Executive Order 11593 or the President's Advisory Council on Historic Preservation "Procedures for the Protection of Historic and Cultural Properties" (36 CFR Part 800) is considered necessary for Fort Gillem or the FORSCOM Recreation Area at Lake Allatoona.