Ye Pleasant Mount: 1989 & 1990 Excavations

This reports details historical and archaeological research on the Mount Pleasant site (9Ef 169) in Effingham County, Georgia. Survey and excavation was undertaken there in 1989 and 1990 by the LAMAR Institute. The site boundaries were defined by systematically aligned shovel tests. One locale, Trader Point, was further investigated by two block excavation units totalling 23m2. These block units contained a rich midden deposit and 23 features. Components identified on the site span the early to mid-eighteenth century. This locality formerly contained a Yuchi Indian village, British trader factory, and ranger garrison. This study is particulary important because it represents the first in depth look at the archaeological manifestations of the Yuchi tribe--a tribe that has eluded historians and archaeologists for more than a century. This research is part of an ongoing project by the LAMAR Institute to investigate eighteenth-century settlements within the Savannah River watershed. Mount Pleasant is located northeast of Clyo, Georgia on a high bluff overlooking the Savannah River in Effingham County (Figure 1). The site lies within the interior coastal plain approximately 45 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. Today the site is in a mixed pine and hardwood growth area, but earlier in the twentieth century most of the site was under cultivation. The portion of the site identified as Trader Point probably was never cultivated because of its topographic setting. Mount Pleasant gets its name from its physical form. Within a few meters of the west bank of the Savannah River, the land rises abruptly to more than 90 feet above the river. From the crest of Mount Pleasant there is a clear view that stretches more than 10 miles to the east. Although there are many pronounced bluffs adjacent to the Savannah River floodplain in this region of the river valley, most of them abutt river swamp rather than the main river channel. At Mount Pleasant the river is very near the bluff, and it is a likely reason that this area became an important river crossing. This prominence was an obvious attraction for man. Its imposing form and steep approach makes it a defensible position from attack by the river. The presence of several springs on the bluff slopes insured a convenient supply of drinking water, especially important during times of siege. A wide variety of plants grow on the shady sheltered slopes, many more common to the piedmont and mountain regions than the coastal plain. The vegetation, topography, ,and panoramic view give Mount Pleasant a pleasing quality which is still evident today.