Cultural Resources Survey of Portions of Oconee National Forest

A reconnaissance level cultural resources survey of 1289 ha (3185 ac) of Oconee National Forest, Georgia, was conducted for the National Forest Service. Areas surveyed were 1n Greene, Jasper, Jones, and Putnam Counties. Seventy-two archeological sites and 5 artifact occurrences were recorded. The sites recorded by this survey consist of 34 prehistoric sites, 9 historic sites, 19 sites with prehistoric and historic components, and a total of 10 rock pile sites of unknown component, including 2 sites with rock piles and historic structural remains, and 3 sites with rock piles and prehistoric artifact(s). Thirty-one sites are potentially eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Protection is recommended for these sites until their eligibility can be determined by more testing. Forty-one sites are recommended ineligible for the Register because extensive disturbance, often coupled with low artifact density, severely limits their research potential. Three sites potentially eligible for the National Register are of particular interest. The southern portion of the Cold Springs Village (9Gel0) lies on Forest Service property and was incompletely tested by backhoe trenching and block stripping. 9Ge18, a large Lamar village atop a high bluff south of Cold Springs and east of Dyar Mound, was shovel tested for the first time to find site limits. Also, a standing structure, known as the Mathis House, built in the early nineteenth century, was recorded.