Gaither Plantation Historic District Boundaries and the Assessment of the Effects on Historic Properties Bear Creek Water Supply Reservoir, Newton County, Georgia

The Bear Creek Reservoir site covers approximately 528 hectares (1,320 acres) along Bear Creek, East Bear Creek, West Bear Creek, and Gaithers Branch in Newton County, Georgia. In 2009 and late spring of 2010, R.S. Webb & Associates (RSWA) conducted a historic resources survey for the reservoir site as a followup to the Phase I/II cultural resources studies of the project area conducted in 1999 and 2000, entitled Cultural Resources Survey and Archeological Testing, Proposed Bear Creek Reservoir, Newton County, Georgia. The survey and reevaluation was requested by the Georgia Historic Preservation Division (HPD) in a letter dated June 2, 2008. HPD requested more information on Gaither Plantation (establishment of a National Register boundary), the Dairy Complex (HS-21), the Starrsville Historic District, and Poplar Hill Church Cemetery, resources that were identified during the 1999-2000 survey. The project area was also surveyed for structures that had reached 50 years in age since the previous survey and included agricultural fields within the Area of Potential Effects (APE) that may be associated with historic structures that are not in the APE. (Gantt and Bowen 2010). The APE for the reservoir for the previous and reevaluation surveys was set at 100 linear meters (328 feet) beyond the normal pool elevation of 195.8 m (642 feet) above mean sea level (Figure 1). The APE was based on the nature of the reservoir project, topography, and vegetation surrounding the project area. The current plans and maps are the same as in the 2002 report with two exceptions. The reach of the reservoir along East Bear Creek will extend to Route 213, and the reservoir will not extend to Poplar Hill Road along West Bear Creek. These revisions were made based on reassessment of the elevation in those areas.