A Cultural Resource Survey of the Adairsville Recreational Development Area

The archaeological survey of the 62 acre proposed City of Adairsville Recreation Area was conducted in July, 1987. The northern Bartow County tract was surveyed through screened shovel testing on a 40 m interval and through surface reconnaissance. In addition, the Georgia State Site Inventory and the National Register of Historic Places were examined to determine if previously recorded sites were present in the tract. Two previously undocumented resources were discovered by the survey. Survey Site 1 is an extensive scatter of prehistoric lithic debris, with a few twentieth century domestic artifacts also present. The site has been severely impacted by erosion, agriculture, and forestry, and no intact deposits remain. Site 1 is recommended as ineligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places, and no further work is recommended. Survey Site 2 is also an extensive scatter of prehistoric lithics and a single historic artifact. The site has only small areas with surviving topsoil, and these areas have been severely plow disturbed. No further work is recommended for Survey Site 2, and the site is not deemed eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The results of the survey suggest that prehistoric groups were utilizing the local chert resources throughout prehistory, with a possible peak in use during the Woodland Period. The two rises paralleling the spring run apparently represented desirable locations for short term encampments at which stone tool production occurred. In the historic period, the area was apparently farmed within a tenant system, and one or two houses were possibly present within the tract. No further work is recommended.