A Cultural Resources Survey of the Proposed Fightingtown Timber Sale, Fannin and Gilmer Counties and the Upper West Armuchee Creek Watershed Project Phase II, Chattooga and Walker Counties, Georgia

Southern Research, Historic Preservation Consultants, Inc. has completed an intensive cultural resources survey of the proposed 197-acre Fightingtown Timber Sale and the 876-acre Upper West Armuchee Creek Watershed Project Phase II (UWAC II), located in the Conasauga Ranger District of the Chattahoochee National Forest, Fannin, Gilmer, Chattooga, and Walker Counties, Georgia. The goal of this cultural resources survey was to identify all potentially significant archaeological and historical resources within the project area and to evaluate the eligibility of the identified resources for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Fieldwork for this project was conducted from April 20 to July 29, 2015. The field crew consisted of Gretchen Eggiman (Field Director), Elizabeth Williamson, Matthew Wood, Rebekah Minchew, and William Lowe.

We revisited nine previously recorded sites (9CG257, 9FN376, 9WA143, 9WA144, 9WA147, 9WA149, 9WA150, 9WA151, and 9WA153). Five previously recorded sites (9FN309, 9WA177, 9WA203, 9WA205, and 9WA244) were not relocated despite extensive efforts. Two previously recorded sites (9WA148 and 9WA364) were recently investigated and did not require further work (Eggiman and Wood 2015). We identified 51 new sites (sites 9CG279 through 9CG281; 9GI236; 9FN528 through 9FN542; 9WA380; and 9WA382 through 9WA412) and identified 14 isolated finds (IF681-1, IF681-2, IF681-20, IF681-23, IF681-31, IF681-35, IF681-40, IF681-41, IF681-43, IF681-47, IF681-51, IF681-59, IF681-61, and IF681-63) (See Tables 1 and 2, respectively).

Of the sites investigated, eight (9WA143, 9FN532, 9FN535, 9FN538, 9WA393, 9WA399, 9WA400, and 9WA402) are recommended undetermined for the NRHP. All other cultural resources investigated during this project area are recommended not eligible for NRHP due to lack of contextual integrity and/or low artifact density and diversity. Figures 2 through 8 present the locations of sites and isolated finds.