Preservation posts: the online journal of the Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Mar. 2014

Preservation Posts - March 2014
In this issue:
- Message from the Director - Historic Preservation Fund Grants - Part One - Women's History Month - Leila Ross Wilburn - Searching for Survivors: Camp Lawton - Locust Grove Partners with GSU on National Register Nomination - Recent News & Announcements - Upcoming Events
Message from the Director
By Dr. David Crass, Division Director & Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer
It was a busy legislative session this year due to the accelerated election calendar and thus, I missed several Messages from the Director, so I have a number of developments to bring to you. This year, in contrast to preceding years going all the way back to state fiscal year 2003 when the initial round of agency reductions took place, our budget stayed even with the preceding year, thanks to the ongoing economic recovery and the upward trend in state revenues. All state government agencies dealt with significant budget reductions over those years, and those of us in leadership positions in HPD had to make decisions that were very tough. To put those reductions in context, however, I can state categorically based on conversations with my counterparts on the Board of Directors at the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers that HPD fared better than many of our neighbors.
I give much of the credit for our healthy budget status to our Operations and Outreach Section Chief, Jana Fitzgibbon, and her predecessor Candy Henderson. Throughout these hard times, they have always given me wise counsel, which has allowed HPD to manage these reductions in a rational, planned way. I also want to acknowledge the critical leadership role played by our colleagues at the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, especially with our policy makers.
Last week I was privileged to attend the graduation ceremony for Iraq and Afghan war veterans from the Veterans Curation Program. Here in Georgia the VCP is administered by New South Associates working out of a lab in Augusta. Veterans learn transferable administrative and analysis skills in a five-month program during which they process U.S. Army Corps of Engineers archaeological collections, most of which have never been systematically analyzed. Their final project is a display at the Augusta Museum of History.
Dr. Charles Coleman, a veteran of both Korea and Southeast Asia and the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer at Thlopthloco Tribal Town (Creek) gave a wonderful tribute to the troops, speaking as both a veteran and a Native American.
There have been several outstanding examples of leadership from the HPD team over the last several months. Dean Baker, Carole Moore, and Charlie Miller of our staff and Doug Young, Executive Director of the Atlanta Urban Design Commission were honored by Commissioner Williams at the March meeting of the DNR Board of Directors. Dean initiated and administered a survey of downtown Atlanta mid-century modern architecture. Many of these buildings were designed by noted architect John Portman, whose firm reshaped 14 blocks of the city's downtown district starting in 1961 with such buildings as Peachtree Center. The product of their hard work is contained in the Downtown Atlanta Contemporary Historic Resources Survey Report. The National Park Service featured this innovative survey on the front page of its annual report on the Historic Preservation Fund to Congress. You can read a brief commentary on the project here .
HPD is working closely with our Law Enforcement Division and Ryan Rowberry, a Georgia State University Law School professor, to develop cultural resources training for our conservation rangers. The training will consist of three modules: an academy module for aspiring rangers, a continuing education module that will be presented at the various regional headquarters on a rotating basis, and a module for captains focusing on our online database, GNAHRGIS. Development of all three modules is nearly complete; Georgia will be the only state in the union to have such a comprehensive training system.
Finally, Leigh Burns is developing a reception for all Georgia historic preservationists at the upcoming National Trust conference in Savannah. HPD staff have also submitted session proposals; hopefully some of those will be accepted as well. Stay tuned for more details to come!
As always, writing about the accomplishments of HPD's staff and our colleagues at the Georgia Trust makes me realize anew how lucky I am to work with such passionate, smart people. I look forward to bringing you more examples of their outstanding work and leadership as our situation continues to improve.
Historic Preservation Fund Grants - Part One
By Carole Moore, Tax Incentives & Grants Coordinator
HPD's oldest existing grant program is the federally-funded Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), which is earmarked only for Georgia's Certified Local Governments (CLGs). For the 30+ years this grant program has been around, in communities throughout Georgia it has funded historic resources/archaeological surveys, National Register nominations, local district designations, design guidelines, historic walking/driving tour brochures, workshops and conferences, website development, video/DVD production, heritage education materials, context studies, historic structure reports, preservation plans, architectural plans and--new last year--brick-and-mortar rehabilitation projects. Individually these grants are not large, but cumulatively they have had a significant impact on preserving and promoting historic resources in the state.
The HPF grant program is appropriated annually from Congress through the National Park Service to support the operations and activities of the nation's State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs). As Georgia's SHPO, HPD reserves 10 percent of each year's appropriation to award 60%/40% sub-grants to CLGs for preservation projects. Since 2001, almost $1 million in sub-grants has been awarded to Georgia CLG communities for such projects.
Each CLG is classified as Category I or a Category II. A Category I CLG is either a new CLG that has not yet completed a community-wide historic resources survey or an older CLG with a community-wide survey completed prior to 1997 that needs updating. A Category I CLG may apply only for a survey project, while a Category II CLG may apply for any of the other types of projects. All CLGs applying for grant funding also must be in good standing with HPD and the National Park Service and have a current annual report on file at HPD.
An excellent example of a CLG that has made good use of the HPF grant program is the City of Gainesville in Hall County. The city phased its comprehensive city-wide historic resources survey over a five-year period, receiving a total of $74,250, then followed up last year with design guidelines for its downtown commercial district for $9,000.
The City of Decatur in DeKalb County is a CLG that has received HPF funding of over $30,000 for a wide variety of projects since 2008, including two National Register historic district nominations, a statewide cemetery conference, and the inaugural year for the Old House Fair, now in its sixth year.
Many small, rural communities in Georgia, such as the City of Hawkinsville in Pulaski County, also have benefitted from the HPF grant program. Since 2001, Hawkinsville has received over $19,000 in funding and produced a downtown National Register district nomination, a local historic district designation report, downtown design guidelines, and finally, in 2011, an award-winning walking/driving tour brochure.
The City of Atlanta has been a CLG for many years and has received funding for numerous projects including National Register nominations and design guidelines, but its two most recent projects involve resources from different centuries. In FFY 2011, the city was awarded $17,290 to produce conditions assessments reports on two Civil War resources in east Atlanta--one the 1880 monument to Union General James B. McPherson and the other the 1902 monument to Confederate General John George Walker. In FFY 2012 the city was awarded $10,500 to produce a first-of-its-kind survey in Georgia of mid-20th century resources in downtown Atlanta.
Finally, significant community landmarks throughout the state have received funding through the HPF grant program, including the Myon Hotel in Tifton, the Dooly County Courthouse in Vienna, the N. Alexander School in Washington, and the Chieftains Museum in Rome. The last three of these grant projects are representative of how the HPF grant program is flexible enough to allow for partnerships between the city or county (the CLG) and a local non-profit organization or other government entity. Both the Myon Hotel and the Dooly County Courthouse received HPF funds for predevelopment projects. The 1906 Myon Hotel (seen in a historic postcard view at right), partially owned by the City of Tifton and containing city offices, was awarded $20,000 in FFY 2012 to produce construction drawings for its second rehabilitation (the first was a successful 1980s rehabilitation tax incentives program project). The City of Vienna was awarded $20,863 in FFY2010 to partner with the Dooly County Board of Commissioners to produce construction drawings for its circa 1890 Dooly County Courthouse. As a result of these HPF-funded predevelopment projects, both the Myon Hotel and the Dooly County Courthouse are now in the process of rehabilitation through other funding sources.
In FFY 2013, the first year that development (brick-and-mortar) funds were available through the HPF grant program, two projects received funding. The City of Washington in
Wilkes County was awarded $22,700 on behalf of the N. Alexander School Foundation to repair the second story windows in the N. Alexander School. Built in 1897 and designed by noted Tennessee architect Reuben H. Hunt in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, the school will function as a much-needed community center once rehabilitation is completed. The City of Rome was awarded $13,800 on behalf of the Chieftains Museum, the historic home of Major John Ridge and a National Historic Landmark for its association with the Cherokee Nation and the Trail of Tears. These two projects are slated to be completed later this year.
These are just a few examples of successful grant projects funded through the federal Historic Preservation Fund. These projects illustrate the significance of this grant program and the difference it can make to a community as it works to preserve and protect its historic resources. Next month--look for Part 2 which will highlight the newly awarded FFY2014 grant projects! More information about the HPF grant program is available on our website.
Women's History Month - Leila Ross Wilburn, Georgia's Second Female Architect
By Lynn Speno, National Register Specialist
This house, in the recently National Register-listed Twin City Historic District (Emanuel County), was built c.1925 from Wilburn's plans and local timber. The current homeowner holds Wilburn's
plans for the house. Photo taken by Wesley Hendley.
This month we are highlighting Leila Ross Wilburn, Georgia's second female architect and perhaps the best-known woman architect in Georgia. Several recent National Register of Historic Places district nominations have included documented house designs by Wilburn. Wilburn, a Macon native, moved to Atlanta as a child. She attended Agnes Scott Institute (later College) and took private architectural drawing lessons. She opened her own design firm in 1909 and located her office in the Peters Building where she could develop relationships with realtors and developers. By focusing on house design, she found a niche in what was generally a male-dominated field and reached a wide clientele through her plan books for house design in her 55-year career. Her plans are known to have been built in at least 35 towns in Georgia so it is not surprising to find her work throughout the state. However, because of the anonymity of plan-book architects, a lot of her work remains undocumented.
At the time she entered her profession, men dominated the business world. How was Wilburn able to be successful in a man's world? In addition to working with general contractors and building supply companies, she took advantage of her gender and promoted herself as a woman who could relate to what women wanted in a house and to how a house functioned best for the woman of the house. In two of her early plan books, she stated: "being a woman I feel that I may know the little things that should go in it to make living in the house a pleasure to the entire family."
The early years of her career were a time of scientific management regarding the home. Kitchen and bathroom inefficiency and sanitation were targets of the domestic science reformers of the early 20th century. Reform in kitchens would mean the addition of electric stoves, linoleum flooring, and washable walls. Wilburn said "my kitchens are arranged to save extra steps and have the rim of the sink 34-36 inches above the floor," and "have the wife's workshop complete." She focused on efficiency in the kitchen and ease of upkeep of the entire home. "Nothing has been overlooked in supplying all the interior features that make it convenient for the housewife" she boasted in her plan books and "wall space in the kitchen is preferable to floor space."
The National Register district nomination that has included the largest number of documented Wilburn-designed houses in Georgia is the McDonough-Adams-Kings Highway Historic District, which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on December 24, 2013. Commonly referred to as the MAK district, it has a large number of Wilburn-
designed houses. The neighborhood association has a website that includes information about these houses and Wilburn's plan books. The plan books are courtesy of Agnes Scott College and the Library of Congress.
Three other National Register district nominations that our office recently has been involved in include Wilburn designs as well. At left is a Wilburn-designed house located within the recently Georgia Register-listed Ponce de Leon Heights-Ponce de Leon Terrace-Clairmont Estates Historic District in Decatur. These Wilburn designs are all bungalow type houses, but she designed other house plans as well in her long career. More information on Wilburn is available at the New Georgia Encyclopedia.
Searching for Survivors: Camp Lawton
By Debbie Wallsmith, Preservation Specialist
Detail of a drawing of Camp Lawton by Robert Knox Sneden, a Union prisoner of war.
One of the exhibits at the soon-to-open Magnolia Springs State Park History Center will allow visitors to assume the identity of a real Camp Lawton POW. At the end of the journey through the prison a searchable database will provide information on the ultimate fate of that prisoner. The database currently contains the names of approximately 2,500 prisoners and when completed will probably have at least twice that many.
Construction of the Camp Lawton prison, also called Millen in reference to the closest town, began in mid-August 1864. It was built to reduce the crowded conditions at Andersonville, which in July 1864 held 33,000 prisoners in a space intended for 10,000. The first prisoners arrived at Millen from Savannah to help complete the stockade in mid-October. Two trainloads of POWs were sent from Andersonville after construction ended: the first on October 31 and the second on November 11. All prisoners and personnel were evacuated by November 22 in advance of General Sherman's troops, who arrived on December 2.
There is no record of the total number of prisoners held at Millen although, Captain D.W. Vowles, the prison commandant, reported on November 8, that there were 10,299 POWs of which 486 had died. A Camp Lawton death register was found by a Presbyterian minister in Savannah, who turned it over to authorities. The death register, published as the Roll of Honor by the US Army Quartermaster Corps, is now available as a free e-book. A summary at the end of the roll states that 748 died and lists the names of 415 soldiers, including 23 identified as being "Sherman's army."
The register provides the names of the dead, as well as their rank, their regiment and company, and the original trench and number of their grave. These were the first names that were entered into the Camp Lawton POW database, after which all of the information was verified through individual state muster rolls, where available. The question arises: if the identities of only the dead were known, was it possible to discover the names of some of those who survived ?
The National Park Service's Soldiers and Sailors Database was also used. This database provides access to the names of prisoners held at Andersonville. In some cases there were some records that had a notation that the prisoner was sent to Millen and sometimes included a date. Unfortunately, there is no way to search the database for all records that contain mention of Millen.
It became apparent that there were discrepancies in the information listed on the Roll of Honor. Many of these discrepancies resulted from there being multiple ways to spell surnames, such as Stewart, Steward, Stuart; or Daly, Daley, Daily, Dailey. Later, it became apparent that the handwriting of the record keepers factored into the discrepancies. Keeping that in mind, when the search for a prisoner reported as Barber was unsuccessful, the name Barker was also checked.
After verifying identities of most of the dead, the next task was to begin compiling a list of the survivors. A few names had been found while checking on those from the Roll of Honor but it seemed to be a daunting task. However, thanks to Michael Shaffer of The Civil War Center at Kennesaw State University, two new online sources of information became available: Civil War Prisoners online database; and the Andersonville Prison Records.
The Andersonville Prison Records includes two volumes called Departures. The means of departure for each prisoner is noted in a column with the heading "Died, Escaped, Paroled, Exchanged, or Released," as well as the date. "Millen" is found written in this column and, while not searchable, it is very easy to browse the records and the names can be quickly checked on the Civil War Prisoners database, which has an entire section for Andersonville. Tracking the prisoners sent from Andersonville to Millen has now become much quicker. However, translating 19th century handwriting is still difficult.
From the current database, 125 prisoners have been selected for the "Assume the Identity" exhibit. Visitors will select a card with the name of the prisoner and his regiment, as well as the following information: date and place of birth, height, hair and eye color, marital status, and occupation. The date and location of their capture is recorded, as is the date they were sent to Millen. After touring the Camp Lawton exhibits, the visitor will be able to find out whether their prisoner died at Camp Lawton or whether they survived by searching the computer database located at The Fate of the Prisoners exhibit.
We will continue to update the database and, one day, hope to include additional information on each POW. We are asking the public to help us collect this information and have established an email account: camplawtonpows@gadnr.org. We are also looking for information on the CSA personnel who worked at Camp Lawton. More information on Camp Lawton is available here.
Locust Grove Partners with Georgia State University on National Register of Historic Places Nomination
By Danielle Ross, African American Programs Intern
The City of Locust Grove is located south of Atlanta in Henry County and began as a rural community in the 19th century. With the construction of the railroad through the center of the community, commercial and residential establishments began to increase, turning Locust Grove into a major distribution center for local goods. Many of the existing commercial and residential structures that make up the historic downtown area were constructed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and were locally-designated in 2010. In efforts to preserve the existing cultural resources, the city passed a local historic preservation ordinance in 2006 and has recently become the 87th Certified Local Government in Georgia. In a new project partnership with Georgia State University's Master of Heritage Preservation Program (MHP), nomination materials to add Downtown Historic Locust Grove to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) will be completed by a graduate class.
For the spring 2014 semester Case Studies in Historic Preservation course, taught by Richard Laub, Georgia State graduate students have set out to research and survey historic downtown Locust Grove. The course, for many students, is the last class that they will take before obtaining their degree and provides them with the practical experience of completing a nomination for NRHP. With the help of Main Street director Mallory Rich (who is also a MHP graduate), students have had access to city archives and other invaluable information to help them work towards the completion of the nomination materials. In addition to the research, students have made several site visits to Locust Grove to document properties and neighborhoods for potential inclusion.
In February, the Case Studies class hosted a history night for local residents and business owners. The night consisted of conducting interviews, scanning old photos, and confirming or disproving any theories on the city's history. Locust Grove history night also served as an opportunity to inform residents on the National Register nomination process. Currently, the graduate class is working on drafts of the nomination to be submitted to the Historic Preservation Division for their review in April. Final approval of the district nomination will be made by the Georgia National Register Review Board.
The City of Locust Grove and Georgia State University have partnered in the past on various preservation projects. In fall 2012, a Historic Building Materials class taught by Richard Laub and Laura Drummond worked on a conditions assessment for a two-teacher Rosenwald School located just outside of the city boundary. In spring 2012, graduate students from Richard Laub and Mary Ann Eaddy's Preservation Planning class created design guidelines for the local historic district.
The City of Locust Grove's website is here. Information on its Main Street Program is available here. Information on the Georgia State MHP program is available here.
Recent News & Announcements
Seven Georgia Communities to Receive Federal Historic Preservation Grants (press release - March 18)
Fulton County Almshouse Listed in the National Register of Historic Places (press release - March 13)
Upcoming Events
April 11-12, 2014 - 2014 Georgia Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) Training - Athens Through a shared partnership, the Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Georgia Alliance of Preservation Commission will offer a twoday educational training for HPC members, staff, local government officials, and preservationists. The training will begin on Friday morning and conclude early Saturday afternoon. Friday sessions will take place at the Foundry Park Inn, with sessions on Saturday at the University of Georgia's College of Environment and Design. HPC members who serve on commissions in Certified Local Government (CLG) communities are required to attend training every three years. Registration closes tomorrow! Click here to download the registration form.
June 5, 2014 - Section 106 for Georgia - City Hall Annex, Valdosta Curious about your role as a Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) member or a preservation non-profit staff in the Section 106 process of the National Historic Preservation Act? Are you interested in hearing national and Georgia perspectives on Section 106 and the Certified Local Government program? Please join us for a one-day Section 106 training sponsored through a federal historic preservation fund grant from the National Park Service. Co-sponsored by HPD, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the National Park Service. Details will be posted here as they become available.
September 26-28, 2014 - 9th biennial "Preserving the Historic Road" conference Savannah "Preserving the Historic Road" is the leading conference dedicated to the identification, preservation, and management of historic roads. This year's conference is co-sponsored by HPD and numerous other Georgia organizations. Details
Please send your comments or suggestions to charlie.miller@dnr.state.ga.us.
Not a member? Subscribe now! Our mailing address is: Georgia Historic Preservation Division Department of Natural Resources 254 Washington Street, SW, Ground Level Atlanta, GA 30334 Add us to your address book Copyright (C) 2014 Georgia Historic Preservation Division All rights reserved. Title image: The Fulton County Almshouse, listed in the National Register on February 8.