Research Design, Physical Anthropology Studies, Cemetery Relocation, MARTA North Line, Dekalb County

The purpose of this document is to outline the approach that will be taken to mitigate the adverse impacts anticipated as a result of planned Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority's (MARTA) construction on two sections of the Nancy Creek Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery. The Nancy Creek Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery is one of the oldest known historic cemeteries in the Atlanta area, and has been determined to be potentially eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (MARTA 1933). The physical anthropology outlined herein is intended to record and report significant research data contained in the graves t o be removed as a part of this project. The project under discussion in this document is one of three separate projects that have, to date, been contracted by MARTA on the study cemetery. The first two projects, conducted simultaneously, involve location and recording of all graves within the cemetery, and exhaustive historical research conducted on the Nancy Creek Baptist Church and its cemetery. The grave location and mapping project was conducted by Phi l l ip Ellen & Associates, Inc. of Southern Pines, North Carolina. The location of each grave in the cemetery was determined through the use of systematic probing, using a one-half inch (diameter- metal probe. Further, the location of each headstone was mapped in relation to its associated shaft, and all unmarked graves were also entered on the site base map. Mapping was accomplished through the use of strategically placed baselines within the cemetery, and plotting each burial in relation to the proper baseline with tapes. Each located grave was given a unique number on the map, and an oak stake was placed at the edge of each burial pit, with the burial number inscribed on a metal plate attached to each stake. This method insured that a plot map could be prepared depicting each burial shaft, and that each burial could then be accurately relocated on the ground. The draft history report was not available when this research design document was compiled, but the project historian (Darlene Roth & Associates, Inc.) did conduct a briefing for Garrow & Associates, Inc. staff on January 17, 1984. written chronology (McWatters 1984) of pertinent events transpiring within the church during its history (as was known at that point in the research) was provided at that briefing. The chronology provided by those researchers indicated that the Nancy Creek Primitive Baptist Church had been founded in 1224, and that unsubstantiated' oral history placed the earliest burial in the church cemetery in 1826. The earliest reference to the church cemetery in the church records was 1854. The church cemetery apparently underwent a series of modifications over the years with timbering approved in 1870; construction of the railroad conducted in 1871; timbering again in 1907 and 1909; a general cemetery clean-up in 1910 - 1911; timbering again in 1947; and clean-ups of the cemetery in 1968 and 1978. Further, various portions of "church land" were sold or leased over the years, including a "50' 70''' parcel in 1917 for a filling station, which apparently is the contemporary site of a filling station at the intersection of Peachtree Road and Eighth Street. The Nancy Creek Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery is divided into two sections separated by Eighth Street which leads to New Peachtree Road, and the Southern Railroad tracks and right of way. Research conducted by the project historians indicated that the road system was essentially in place from the founding of the church, while the railroad was constructed in 1871 (McWatters Personal Communication 1984). Burials were apparently removed when the railroad was constructed, although the ultimate disposition of those burials remains unclear at this time. The question of relative numbers of White and Black persons interred in the cemetery had not been accurately determined at the time of the briefing. There were ninety-two :92) White and eight (8) Black members of the church in 1842. The church minutes indicated that black burials were to be prohibited in the cemetery after June 30, 1902, because of lack of space. The historical research had not, to that time, revealed where White versus Black burials were placed within the cemetery. An inspection of the entire cemetery was conducted by Patrick H. Garrow and Steve Symes of Harrow & Associates, Inc. on January 16, 1984, as an initial step in the preparation of this document. The grave location and mapping project had been completed by that time, and the grave locations had been marked as indicated earlier in this chapter. Further, the mapping contractor had marked the anticipated impact area with yellow stakes, which allowed a visual assessment of the number of burials to be removed under this project. A total of 12 marked and 35 unmarked graves were ultimately noted on the project map for the northern impact zone, while no marked and 23 unmarked graves were plotter in the southern impact zone. During the January 16 inspection, the ground surface of the cemetery was noted to be devoid of all but modern artifacts, and a high degree of gravestone destruction was observed in the northern section. The soil within and around the cemetery appeared to be red clays typical of this section of the Piedmont, and little or no developed topsoil was observed. The document which follows was prepared to meet number of project guidelines established by MARTA. Those guidelines will directly influence the recovery of at least some toes of data on this project, and are described in detail in the following chapter. Those guidelines are: (1) only unmarked graves are to be studied; (2) al 1 graves are to be removed by a professional burial removal company which will also be responsible for the re-interments; (3) the physical anthropologist will be allowed a maximum of two (2) hours at grave side to study each revealed skeleton; (4) no burials, once opened, will be left i n the ground overnight; and (5) no skeletal or other remains will be removed from the cemetery for study. The physical anthropology study outlined in this document represents an experimental approach. This approach, as with any approach taken on a project of this nature, may return either positive or negative data sets. The Research Questions and Methods Chapters which follow delineate the research questions to be used to guide the physical anthropology research and methods that will be applied in the pursuit of those questions. The Methods Chapter further contains a number of suggestions for insuring site security, and for structuring the cooperation of the burial removal firm and the physical anthropologist.