Phase I Archaeological Survey of 1000 Acres in Paulding County, Georgia: The Pumpkinvine Creek Neighborhoods Project

During the month of July, 1997 New South Associates conducted a 1,000 acre survey of the Neighborhoods of Pumpkinvine Creek Tract in Paulding County, Georgia. A total of 35 sites and 11 isolated finds were located within the proposed project area. Site types included late nineteenth and early/mid twentieth-century house sites, prehistoric and historic artifact scatters, a stone quarry site, and isolated finds. Three sites, 9PA79, 9PA80, and 9PA102, are recommended as potentially eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). These sites are recommended for avoidance, or if avoidance is not possible, then Phase II testing to definitely determine their eligibility. Sites 9PA79 and 9PA80 are prehistoric Woodland /Mississippian period components that are located near each other and could possibly represent a single larger site. Both of these sites contain lithics and ceramic sherds and in the case of site 9PA79, a preserved cultural feature. Site 9PA102 contains potentially significant prehistoric and historic components. The prehistoric component is identified primarily on the basis of a collection of stone tools and soapstone artifacts collected by an amateur archaeologist during the early 1980s when the area was cleared of vegetation. The present survey relocated a soapstone outcrop of boulders and scattered fragments of what appeared to be worked soapstone artifacts. The historic component at site 9PA102 is represented by three small mine shafts that were apparently excavated by the local inhabitants during the late 1800s or early 1900s. The remainder of the sites discovered during the survey are recommended as not eligible for the NRHP. This report details the background, methods, and results of this project, as well as management recommendations for the three sites recommended as potentially eligible for the NRHP.