In this issue: -Twenty Farms Receive Georgia Centennial Farm Awards -More to the Story: Artifacts Help Tell Tales -Vanishing History -Tax Program Highlights -2010 Staff Photo -Staff Profiles: Melina Vasquez Twenty Farms Receive Georgia Centennial Farm Awards By Steven Moffson, Architectural Historian & Chair of the Georgia Centennial Farm Committee The Brim Farm in Terrell County was among this year's award recipients. Twenty farms received Georgia Centennial Farm awards this year at the 17th annual awards ceremony held at the Georgia National Fair and Agricenter in Perry on October 8, 2010. The Centennial Farm program recognizes the importance of family farms in Georgia and honors farms that have remained in the same family for a hundred years or more. Since 1993, the program has recognized 379 farms. This year, 20 farms in 19 counties across the state were honored at a luncheon held for nearly 200 guests and award recipients. Keynote speaker Georgia State Senator John Bulloch described the challenges that his family faced growing pecans on their farm in Thomas County. This year's winning farms represent the diversity of agriculture common in Georgia before World War II. These farms were largely self-sufficient and relied on the labor of the entire family and sometimes tenant farmers. From 1910 to 1929, the Brown family of the T.A. Brown Family Farm in Laurens County raised cattle, milk cows, hogs, and chickens. Cotton, the main cash crop, and wheat were grown for market; corn and peanuts were grown to feed the livestock and for "table use." The family's vegetable garden included beans, peas, okra, tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash. The Thornton Farm in Pierce County, "lived entirely off the farm," raising cattle and hogs and growing corn, peanuts, sugar cane, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, and Sea Island cotton, which was the family's main cash crop. In addition to cotton, tobacco was another important cash crop in Georgia and several of this year's farms grew tobacco used for cigar wrappers and cigarettes. These include the Hopkins Farms of Grady County, Thornton Farm in Pierce County, and the Hattaway-Harris Farm in Wheeler County. The Hattaway-Harris Farm includes a flue-cured tobacco barn in which tobacco leaves were hung and slowly dried by furnaces over several days to a week before it was sent to market. Many of this year's farms include complexes of historic outbuildings that supported the production, processing, and storage of agricultural products. These include barns to shelter livestock and store equipment, crib barns for corn, dairies for processing milk, and galvanized-steel bins for grain storage. The Dunaway-Cape Heritage Farm in Dooly County once included a machine shop to maintain and repair farm equipment. Several farms operated stores that sold goods to the local community. The W. F. Holcomb Family Farm in Habersham County includes the small general store that W.F. Holcomb began in 1920. This year, two African-American-owned farms received Centennial Farm awards: the Garfield Hall Farm in Bulloch County was purchased in 1904 by R. D. Saturday, who grew cotton, corn, tobacco, and peanuts and raised chickens, turkeys, hogs, and rabbits. The Charleston-Allen Farm in Morgan County was purchased in the 1890s by Anna Charleston, who was born a slave in 1860. Anna slowly accumulated land on which she and her children grew corn and cotton and raised cattle and pigs. The Garfield Hall Farm and the Charleston Allen Farm are among the seven black-owned farms that have received Centennial Farm awards since 1993. For the complete list of Georgia Centennial Farms and for award application information, please visit HPD's website or contact Steven Moffson, Chair of the Georgia Centennial Farm Committee at 404-651-5906 or by email at steven.moffson@dnr.state.ga.us. Photos of each of the 2010 farms are available on our Flickr page. The deadline for 2011 applications is May 1st, 2011. More to the Story: Artifacts Help Tell Tales By Stephen Dilk, Underwater Archaeologist and Chris McCabe, Deputy State Archaeologist - Underwater "Greenwood China Company" dinner plate, c. 1890-1913 (left). "Packard & James" bottle c. 1910 (right). HPD's underwater archaeologists have recovered numerous artifacts from over sixty archaeological sites in Phase II of a study of our remote marsh islands and hammocks. The three year study has focused on the effects of erosion on coastal sites, and has included measurements and mapping of shoreline change. The artifacts suggest numerous stories. Pieces of Native American pottery, remnants of colonial wine bottles, buried wharf posts, Civil War cannon supports, and steamboat tableware are just some of the items being studied in order to better understand the coastal inhabitants who once used them. A nearly intact green-glass wine bottle from the mid-1700s (left), discovered submerged and partially buried near a former colonial wharf, was likely discarded by a sailor or dockworker after its contents were summarily enjoyed. A section of whiteware dinner plate etched with the name "Greenwood China Company" was found eroding from a former plantation site, implying that dinnerware, specifically designed for use aboard coastal steamboats, had found its way to a group of field-hands living along the river. The same site also produced an aqua colored bottle embossed with the name "Packard & James New York." This merchant firm distributed spices and coffee at the end of the 19th century, and its discovery at a Savannah River landing site hints at important turn-of-the-century maritime sail and steam trading networks. Yet archaeologist Ivor Noel Hume wrote "...the recovery of artifacts is not, nor should not be, the object of the exercise" (Hume, 1969), and so it is with this study. These finds not only have interesting stories to tell, but also serve as a source of archaeological information for future studies. A relational database and cataloging system, inspired by others in the archaeological community, will register this small collection with others via detailed classifications of type, maker, material, and function. As "three dimensional additions to the pages of history" (Hume 1969), artifacts can be utilized in museums and other public collections to help interpret Georgia's heritage and, as such, many of these items will be incorporated into appropriate displays statewide. Collectively, the coastal erosion study will not only help assess and prioritize endangered archaeological sites for possible management and mitigation, but also ensure that a few voices from the past will not be drowned out by the steady rush of the tides and invariable changes to our coastal environment. For more information on underwater archaeology in Georgia visit www.gashpo.org/content/ displaynavigation.asp?TopCategory=79. Vanishing History by Amanda Schraner, Transportation Projects Coordinator The Mundy House as seen from the front (left) and rear (right). The house was located on SR 54 in Clayton County. Georgians familiar with Clayton County will recognize the family name "Mundy." It has been immortalized in the area south of Jonesboro and is represented by Mundy's Mill Road, Mundy's Mill High School, Mundy's Millpond, and Mundy Cemetery. As one might guess, the Mundy family was once very influential in this part of the county. The first Mundy family member documented as living in the area was Reuben Mundy, who is listed in the 1820 Federal Census as a resident of Fayette County (from which Clayton County would be created in 1858). Members of the Mundy family in the area went on to hold prominent positions in local government and the law; one was the Clerk of the Superior Court and another was a United States District Attorney. Another Mundy family member was the local newspaper publisher and there were Mundy farmers and millers as well. The Mundy family legacy is not only captured by the names of a road and modern school, but it is also embodied in a number of historic resources in the area. Unfortunately, the number of the resources associated with the family continues to dwindle. Mundy's Mill was in operation from the late 19th century until the 1960s at the corner of State Route 54 and Mundy's Mill Road, but it was destroyed by fire in the 1980s. The present Mundy's Mill High School is now located on the former mill site. A more recent loss is that of a late 19th century residence associated with the Mundy family. This one-story frame house featured a rare H-shaped floor plan, historic clapboard siding, and a stone pier foundation that was later filled in with concrete block. Interestingly, the windows of the house were shortened in the early 20th century, indicating that the house originally had tall windows that reached the floor. The destruction of this architecturally significant house to make way for suburban development further weakens the tangible link of the Mundy family to the landscape of Clayton County. Fortunately, one other known Mundy family house still exists in the area as well as a house that may have been used by workers at Mundy's Mill. The Mundy family cemetery also still exists, but is tucked away in a modern housing development that was built on property once owned by the Mundy family. The loss of regionally significant historic resources, such as those associated with the Mundy family of Clayton County, is becoming more common and is a growing concern to preservationists across Georgia. These losses remind us here at HPD how important it is to continue our preservation efforts in order to bring more awareness and appreciation of historic resources to the citizens of Georgia. We continue our efforts to spread our preservation message so that family legacies, like that of the Mundy family, will exist in more than just the names of modern features such as roads and schools. Tax Program Highlights by Beth Gibson, Preservation Architect Two "Sisters" in Macon Get Much-Needed Facelifts These two neighboring houses in the Beall's Hill neighborhood in Macon have recently been completely rehabilitated and updated for modern living in accordance with DNR's Standards for Rehabilitation. Located in the Macon Historic District, the projects were completed by the Historic Macon Foundation through their neighborhood revitalization program. The rehabilitation projects qualified for HPD's state tax incentives programs for rehabilitating historic properties: the Georgia Preferential Property Tax Assessment Program and the Georgia State Income Tax Credit Program. Both houses have been sold and are now homeowner-occupied. The following photos are courtesy of the Historic Macon Foundation: 972 Maple Street, before (top) and after (bottom): Some of the original, harp-shaped, porch balusters were found inside this house and were duplicated to recreate the original porch railing. 980 Maple Street, before (top) and after (bottom): There was no remaining evidence of the original porch features at this house; therefore, a plain, compatible, design was used for the new porch columns and railing. 2010 Staff Photo Group photo from the 2010 HPD staff retreat, held at the Hills & Dales Estate in LaGrange. From left to right: Jennifer Bedell, Denise Messick, Helen Talley-McRae, Carole Moore, Betsy Shirk, Richard Cloues, Chris McCabe, Beth Gibson, Jeanne Cyriaque, Jo Ann Jenkins, Maysyly Naolu, Stephen Dilk, Hellen Harris, Joy Melton, Lawana Woodson, Ced Dolder, Bryan Tucker, Amanda Schraner, Erin Parr, Melina Vasquez, Karen Anderson-Cordova, Bob Entorf, Bill Hover, Vivian Pugh, Candy Henderson, Lynn Speno, Dean Baker, Gretchen Brock, Dave Crass, Leigh Burns, Steven Moffson, Charlie Miller. Not pictured: Mary Ann Eaddy Staff Profiles Melina Vasquez, Environmental Review & Preservation Planning Program Assistant Melina Vasquez holds a Bachelor of Business Administration, a Master of Heritage Preservation from Georgia State University, and has been part of HPD since 2003. As Program Assistant, she supports the Environmental Review and Preservation Planning Program; she is involved in special projects including archiving Environmental Review files and organizing mitigation documentation. How did you become involved in the field of historic preservation? I became involved in Historic Preservation by accident, actually! I took a job at HPD and, after several years, I was considering graduate school in several fields that interested me. Karen Anderson-Cordova, Program Manager for Environmental Review & Preservation Planning, encouraged me to pursue the Masters in Heritage Preservation at Georgia State University. I like history, specifically the stories that can be learned from individuals and the past. Historic buildings tell the stories of the people that used them, and when cared for properly can last a long time to tell their story to many generations of Georgia's citizens. What do you do on a typical day? I stay pretty busy all day. I provide assistance to our external customers by referring phone calls to the appropriate staff and helping consultants research files in the Environmental Review program. I provide assistance to internal customers by retrieving projects, providing help with our copier and fax machines, writing memos, sending responses by electronic mail, logging out and filing projects. I assist Leigh Burns, Preservation Planner & Certified Local Government Coordinator by tracking CLG applications and local historic property designation reports submitted to our office. What do you like most about your job? My job is challenging in that it does involve a variety of different tasks that need to be done in any given day. I learn from the other staff and enjoy seeing how all of our programs fit together to promote historic preservation throughout the state of Georgia. What do you like to do outside the office? I enjoy running road races, hiking state parks, and indoor rock climbing. I am currently a graduate student at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, where I will earn a Masters of Divinity in 2012. When I finish I will become a chaplain for the Army National Guard. Please send your comments or suggestions to charlie.miller@dnr.state.ga.us. like us on Facebook find us on Flickr 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) 2010 Georgia Historic Preservation Division All rights reserved. Title image: The Gammage Family Farm in Worth County, a 2010 Centennial Family Farm Award winner.