Cultural Resources Survey, Seventeen Compartments on the Oconee National Forest

From April 28 through June 15, 1994, R.S. Webb & Associates conducted a cultural resources survey of 3,181 acres in 17 compartments (Compartment Nos. 101, 105, 107, 115, 118, 119, 133, 135, 139, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 155, 173 and 183) on the Oconee National Forest in Jasper, Putnam and Greene Counties, Georgia. The survey had two components: 1) a reconnaissance survey of 1,563 acres of established Forest Service land; and 2) a 15 percent (306 acres) sampling survey of 1,618 acres of newly acquired lands. The survey was conducted for the U.S. Forest Service and will be used to facilitate compliance with Sections 106 and 110 of the Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and other federal legislation concerning the treatment of cultural resources on public land (i.e., Antiquities Act of 1906; Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979). A review of the Georgia State Archeological site files and the U.S. Forest Service Cultural Resources Inventory Atlas indicated that 15 recorded archeological sites are located within the survey area. Five of these sites were not relocated. Sites GA08-1479; GA08-1480 and GA08-1482 are located in the sampled area and were not resurveyed. Site 9PM857 was in an area surveyed by Gantt and Webb (1990) and was not revisited. The location of Site 9PM71 could not be ascertained from the records and therefore, was not relocated. The remaining previously-recorded sites were relocated during the current study and are identified in Table I. A review of the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) files indicates that no NRHP-eligible or -listed cultural resources are located within the survey area. Background research (historic maps and Forest Service land acquisition records) and pedestrian survey resulted in the detection of 87 cultural resource sites, 23 isolated artifact finds and 18 isolated rock piles (Figures I-X). Cultural resources range from Archaic period lithic scatters to early 20th century house sites and artifact scatters. Table I summarizes the findings and recommendations for sites recorded during the current study. The majority of the sites and all of the isolated finds are recommended as ineligible for the NRHP. No further work is recommended for these cultural resources. Eight cultural resource sites [Sites 9PM997, 9PM998, 9GE1542, 9GE1546, 9JA253, 9JA258 and 9JA268 (prehistoric component)] are recommended as potentially eligible for the NRHP because they may contain partially intact cultural deposits. It is recommended that these sites be protected and avoided or evaluated to determine NRHP eligibility status. The historic cemetery on Site 9PM268 is recommended as potentially eligible for the NRHP because it contains the graves of a prominent 19th century military and political leader, Brigadier General David Adams and members of his family. The site also contains a potentially significant prehistoric ceramic component. It is recommended that the historic cemetery be delineated, protected and monitored for vandalism. Until the cemetery has been clearly delineated, it is recommended that the prehistoric component be protected and avoided. Wells associated with 13 historic sites (Sites 9GE1548, 9PM997, 9GE1540, 9GE1546, 9PM966, 9PM1017, 9PM1025, 9PM1027, 9PM1030, 9PM1034, 9JA251, 9JA255 and 9JA256) should be fenced, capped or filled to reduce hazards and protect any possibly valuable cultural data they may contain.