Cultural Resources Survey of an Approximately 65-Acre Tract for Oconee Riverfront Park Along the Proposed Oconee River Greenway in Baldwin County, Georgia

Between May 16 and May 19 2005, TRC conducted a cultural resources survey of an approximately 65-acre tract fronting on the Oconee River for the proposed Oconee Riverfront Park and Greenway in Milledgeville, Baldwin County, Georgia.

During the archaeological survey, three archaeological resources were identified within the project area. J2 is a brick, ground end-abutment for an early Oconee River bridge located on the west bank of the river and adjacent to the new boat ramp. 9BL248 is a 1940s/1950s-era town dump located in the northern portion of the tract. 9BL249 is the site of the 1883–1939 J.W. McMillan brickyard located along the western side of the project area. A fourth resource that may lie within the project area is a small portion of the Central Georgia Lumber Company facilities, which were built sometime after 1913.

A sawdust bin may have occupied a small part of the northwest corner of the project tract, but this would have been covered by construction of the ground end-abutment of the new (1970s) State Route (SR) 22 bridge. The main part of the Central Georgia Lumber Company site was located west of the project area. J2 and the bridge’s mid-channel brick piers, as well as the east bank, ground end abutment will be fully recorded as part of future underwater investigations by State marine archaeologist, Jason Burns. Therefore TRC has not submitted a site form for J2 and has no recommendations for the site. TRC recommends 9BL248 ineligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). No additional archaeological investigations are recommended for this site.

TRC does recommend site 9BL249, the J.W. McMillan brickyard site, eligible for the NRHP. Background research shows that the company, also known as the Milledgeville Brick Company, was in operation between 1883 and the late 1930s. An earlier brickworks, that of Daniel Caraker, dating back to at least 1872, may have occupied a

portion of the McMillan site. A series of Sanborn insurance maps dating from 1901 show continued improvements to the brickworks, culminating with the construction, around 1910, of one of the earliest continuous kilns in Georgia, if not in the South. For those portions of the site that do retain integrity and research value, specifically the elements of

the brickyard that include structural remains and the rail spur system, TRC recommends further archival research and a program of clearing, testing, and total station mapping of the site with sub-meter accuracy GPS. This work could include locating the Daniel Caraker brick kilns, so far as that is possible, the early McMillan brick and pottery kilns

and other features represented on the 1901–1946 Sanborn Insurance maps, as well as the precise footprint of the 1910 Haigh kiln, including its intact draft flue system. Beyond the site’s information potential, TRC believes that the site is eligible for the NRHP because of its importance to the history of Milledgeville. For that reason, intact aspects of the site and related features, such as clay mining areas, should be preserved as a visible reminder of the site’s role in Milledgeville history that can be enjoyed by visitors to the park.

Reconnaissance of the project’s Area of Potential Effects (APE) was undertaken to locate architectural resources 50 years old or older. The APE was defined as the area in which the proposed riverfront park would physically or visually affect any historic architectural resources. The survey for historic structures identified only modern properties in the project APE, including facilities of the Georgia Military College and the SR 22 bridge.

No historic architectural resources were identified in the APE during the present survey. Therefore, no further historic architectural investigations are recommended.