Archaeological Survey of the Don Carter State Park, Hall county, Georgia

Southern Research, Historic Preservation Consultants, Inc. (hereafter, Southern Research), has completed an archaeological survey of the Don Carter State Park, Hall County, Georgia. The Don Carter State Park encompasses a total of 1,316.42 acres of land located on the north shoreline of Lake Sidney Lanier. A total of 1,0421.92 acres is owned by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR), the remaining 274.5 acres are leased from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District (USACE). This report details three separate archaeological surveys conducted by Southern Research in December through January 2009, May 2010, and April through May 2011 that cover the entire Don Carter State Park. All the archaeological resources identified within the Don Carter State Park are summarized in Table I. The first archaeological survey investigated three separate parcels encompassing approximately 400 acres belonging to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR) and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District (USACE). During this investigation, land belonging to the USACE was surveyed under Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) Permit Number: DACW01-4-09-0457, which was issued to the GDNR. This survey resulted in the identification of 18 previously undocumented archaeological sites (9HL528 through 9HL545) and two isolated artifact occurrences (Isolates 1 and 2). Two of these archaeological sites (9HL544 and 9HL545) were recorded outside of the survey area and were observed while traveling from one portion of the property to another. Although they were not in the survey area, they were reported. The second archaeological survey covered a small 28-acre parcel, owned by GDNR and located at the end of N. Browning Bridge Road. During this investigation, one archaeological site (9HL559) was recorded (see Table I). The most-recent archaeological survey encompassed approximately 772 acres of land owned by GDNR and 20 acres owned by USACE; which represent all remaining portions of the Don Carter State Park that had not been previously surveyed for cultural resources. The investigations conducted on USACE land were conducted under ARPA Permit Number DACW-1-4-11-0456. This survey resulted in the identification of 21 previously unidentified archaeological sites (9HL562 through 9HL582 – see Table I) and eight isolated artifact occurrences (Isolates 3 through 10). In addition, three archaeological sites (9HL538, 9HL544, and 9HL545) recorded during the first phase of survey were revisited. The results of the archaeological surveys indicate that seven of the archaeological sites (9HL530, 9HL537, 9HL540, 9HL542, 9HL545, 9HL572, 9HL574) identified within the Don Carter State Park are potentially significant. We recommend the NRHP eligibility of site 9HL539 as unknown. Therefore, these sites will require further archaeological investigations to determine their eligibility for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Site 9HL530 is an historic cemetery which contains unmarked burials and should be delineated to determine the limit of graves which, at present, is unknown. In addition, one archaeological site (9HL544) located outside of the boundaries of the Don Carter State Park was not be assessed for the NRHP. However, recent investigations indicate that this site is currently underwater within Lake Lanier and development of the Don Carter State Park will have no effect on this archaeological site. The remaining 32 archaeological sites and the 10 isolated finds are recommended not eligible for the NRHP. Further management consideration of these sites and isolated finds, and the remainder of the Don Carter State Park in regards to cultural resources is not warranted.