Preservation posts: the online journal of the Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Nov. 2012

In this issue:
- Stockade Wall Found at Camp Lawton - Section 106 Training for Georgia: A Successful Partnership - Sustainability & Historic Preservation Conference - Staff Profile: Linda Bitley - Upcoming Events
Division Director Dr. David Crass has been on the road and will resume his regular column next month.
Stockade Wall Found at Camp Lawton
By Bryan Tucker, State Archaeologist
Archaeologists uncover the stockade wall at Camp Lawton.
In October 2012, archaeologists from HPD, Georgia Southern University, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with assistance from Kennesaw State University, the University of Georgia, the Lamar Institute, and Cypress Cultural Consultants, found the remains of the Camp Lawton stockade wall, a crucial element in determining the actual layout of one of the Civil War's largest Prisoner of War (POW) camps. The discovery was made with the help of the PBS television show Time Team America, which documented the excavation and provided extensive technical assistance.
The discovery was made at Magnolia Springs State Park in Millen. Previous excavations at Camp Lawton were featured in Preservation Posts in 2009 and 2010. The camp was constructed in 1864 by the Confederates to help house captured Union forces. The 42-acre prison was composed of a 15-foot high log stockade built around the stream from Magnolia Spring. Upon completion over 10,000 Union soldiers were housed in the prison, but it was only in use for around six weeks before it was evacuated in advance of Sherman's March to the Sea.
Though archaeologists knew the general location of the stockade, locating a corner allows the exact position to be locked down. As a result, archaeologists can begin to ask more complex questions and explore individual portions of the camp instead of trying to locate it. Sue Moore, Ph.D., professor of Anthropology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Georgia Southern University, said finding the wall was one of the greatest moments of her archeological career.
The discovery was made through the use of ground penetrating radar (GPR), magnetometry, conductivity, and electro induction. A crew of geophysicists with Time Team America, along with volunteers from Georgia Southern, the University of Georgia, the Lamar Institute, and Cypress Cultural Consultants conducted a massive amount of research in the span of a few days. Based on the information received from the geophysics, archaeologists were able to locate a dark linear stain in the soil that marks the decayed remnants of the wall. The remains of several wooden posts were also recovered from the stain.
Archaeologists also recovered several timbers that were submerged in Magnolia Spring near the location where the Camp Lawton Stockade would have crossed it. The largest of the timbers measured around five feet in length and weighed almost 400 pounds. Series of tree rings in the samples taken from these timbers will help researchers confirm they were part of the Camp Lawton stockade.
In addition to the work in the state park, archaeological investigations of the camp continued on the adjacent Bo Ginn National Fish Hatchery. This work uncovered more information about the 10,000+ Union prisoners housed at the prison. Excavations of shebangs, or the huts constructed by the prisoners, revealed living surfaces and possible hearth features which contain information about the lives of the prisoners who were imprisoned at Camp Lawton nearly 150 years ago.
Excavations at the park are ongoing as is work on a new museum slated to be opened in 2013. If you are interested in learning more, Georgia Southern continues to partner with HPD to host public archaeology days at the park. More information about Camp Lawton, public archaeology, and the ongoing discoveries can be found on GSU's Camp Lawton website and Facebook page. The Time Team America episode featuring Camp Lawton will air in the summer of 2013.
Section 106 Training for Georgia: A Successful Partnership
By Marcy Breffle, Certified Local Government Program Intern
Training participants listen as HPD's Leigh Burns talks about Certified Local Governments.
Last month, HPD hosted a one-day training session entitled Sharing the Process: Section 106 for Georgia. Held in historic downtown Decatur, the training was sponsored through a federal historic preservation fund grant from the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. HPD partnered with the National Park Service, Advisory Council for Historic Preservation, the City of Decatur, and the DeKalb History Center to educate attendees on the importance of Environmental Review processes within Georgia communities. This component of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, requires federal agencies to consider the effects of projects they approve, fund, or complete on historic properties.
Participants gained valuable insight into the Environmental Review process from the training's knowledgeable speakers. Megan Brown, Certified Local Government National Coordinator from the National Park Service, and HPD's own Preservation Planner and CLG Program Coordinator Leigh Burns presented on the role of Environmental Review within local governments. A training specialist from the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation, Blythe Semmer provided an in-depth look into Environmental Review and involved participants through group participation in case studies. Participants were provided varying perspectives from Sharman Southall from the Georgia Department of Transportation; New South Associates President Mary Beth Reed; and Amanda Schraner and Elizabeth Shirk from HPD. Daniel Carey, president and CEO of the Historic Savannah Foundation, concluded the training with a look at the role of preservation non-profits in Environmental Review processes.
The training was held at the historic DeKalb County Courthouse in charming downtown Decatur. Completed in 1918, the Neoclassical-style courthouse is home to the DeKalb History Center and is a source of pride for the Decatur community. The historic courthouse on the square proved to be the perfect location for a day of great speakers, beneficial presentations, and valuable networking.
Information on Section 106 in Georgia is available on our website.
Sustainability & Historic Preservation Conference
By Roy Edwards, Sustainability Coordinator
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), in partnership with the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) and HPD, hosted the inaugural Sustainability and Historic Preservation Conference on October 16 18 at the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) in Atlanta. This was a regional conference with enthusiastic attendees from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, the Carolinas, Florida, Illinois, and Georgia. Sessions focused on initiatives in the southeastern states that combine sustainability and historic preservation, preserving both history and ecology while achieving high standards of sustainability.
Suganthi Simon of EPA was the driver of the successful conference, along with strong support from a planning committee of preservation professionals. They secured the keynote speaker, case study and technical presenters, roundtable panels, and coordinated tours of local sustainability and preservation projects.
The conference started with afternoon tour sessions with options of visiting one of three sites: (1) Stonehurst Place, a Midtown bed and breakfast that is a unique combination of preservation and modern amenities. Sustainability features here include whole house icynene insulation to reduce energy use, efficient HVAC systems, low-VOC materials to improve air quality, rain water harvesting and greywater recycling (in two 1,700 gallon underground storage tanks) to lower water usage. (2) Ponce City Market, the ongoing rehabilitation of the Sears, Roebuck & Company's two-millionsquare-foot former southern distribution facility, which is planned to house a mix of retail, dining, office, and residential space. The tour covered the historic attributes of the facility and opportunities and challenges of pursuing LEED designation. (3) Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Building, Atlanta, constructed in 1933. The tour highlighted historic characterdefining features retained in the building's recent rehabilitation along with sustainability design aspects such as high-efficiency mechanical and lighting systems, low-flow plumbing fixtures, landscaping with native plants, daylighting strategies, and commuter-friendly elements such as bicycle racks and changing facilities.
Day two began with introductions and greetings from HPD director Dr. David Crass and was highlighted by keynote speaker Carl Elefante of Quinn Evans Architects, who is credited with the phrase "The greenest building is one that is already built." Carl set the tone of the conference with his thought-provoking presentation entitled "Simplify Your Life." In it, he observed that we're living in the "sustainability moment" and that it's time to join our (preservation and sustainability) voices. He also noted that while preservation is inherently sustainable, sustainability practices can also improve preservation efforts. He acknowledged a recent study supporting these thoughts by quoting from The Greenest Building: Quantifying the Environmental Value of Building Reuse (a publication of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Preservation Green Lab), which concludes "building reuse almost always yields fewer environmental impacts than new construction when comparing buildings of similar size and functionality."
Following the keynote presentation were case studies, technical sessions, and policy roundtable discussions that made up the bulk of the conference with topics like sustainablity design strategies, community design, energy modeling, building envelope study, lifecycle analysis, restoration, LEED, building performance, indoor air quality, and more. The full conference agenda is available online.
The second day ended with a relaxed reception at the 5 Seasons Westside, where we joined the Lifecycle Building Center, a local construction material reuse center, to network over great food and refreshments.
Day three continued with a morning of additional case studies, technical sessions and roundtables, including a town hall session to discuss identified critical issues intended to facilitate possible policy crafting by the EPA. While the morning sessions concluded the presentation portion of the conference, its final event was an afternoon charrette at the Wren's Nest, historic home of author Joel Chandler Harris. Built in 1868, it now serves as the oldest house museum in the city of Atlanta. The charrette began with a tour of the house, after which participants broke up into groups to tackle three core issues: Collections, Thermal Comfort, and Structural Integrity. The teams developed recommendations for potential solutions and provided associated information and guidance to be used by Wren's Nest leadership for possible grant-request efforts and future rehabilitation projects.
Local, regional, and national events like the Sustainability and Historic Preservation Conference are essential for developing and improving synergy between sustainability and historic preservation efforts, especially in the areas of policy, practice, education and implementation. The success of this conference gives hope for continued enthusiasm and momentum to have similar events in the future. As stated in a Kenyan proverb, "the earth is not given to us by our parents; it is lent to us by our children."
Staff Profile
Linda Bitley, Curator
Linda has been with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources for 9 years, until recently with the Parks and Historic Sites Division. As Curator of Collections she is responsible for the care, control, and documentation of the historic artifacts in the collections of Georgia's state parks and historic sites. Prior to coming to DNR she worked for 13 years as Collections Manager and Head of Collections at the Atlanta History Center and before that as Director of Fine Arts for the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Macon, GA. She holds a Bachelors degree in Art Education from the State University of New York College at Buffalo and a Masters degree in Art History from the State University of New York at Binghamton. She also has 11 years teaching experience.
How did you become involved in your field? An interest in historic objects goes back to my childhood. I grew up in Buffalo, New York. The city has art, science, and history museums where I was taken frequently as a kid but it never occurred to me that you could actually work in a museum. Instead I studied art education and art history, becoming an art teacher in the public schools and then an Assistant Professor of Art History at Grand Valley State College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. When I moved to Macon, Georgia, I couldn't find a teaching job so I volunteered to teach some after-school classes at the Museum of Arts and Sciences. About that time they needed an art educator/art historian and hired me to run their fine arts exhibition program. As part of that job I was also responsible for the documentation of the museum's artifact collection. That job was made a little easier to do since I'd worked in a public library through high school and most of college and had thus learned ways to organize both objects and the information about them. When I moved to Atlanta I got a temporary job with the Atlanta History Center as Registrar. That grew into a permanent position as Collections Manager. I stayed at the Atlanta History Center for 13 years, eventually becoming Head of Collections. AHC has a much larger and more diverse artifact collection than the Macon Museum. While there I was able to learn a great deal about the care and documentation of a complex collection. This stood me in good stead when I joined the staff of the Georgia Parks and Historic Sites Division as Curator of Collections. In that position I am responsible for the historic artifact collections at 20+ historic sites and parks around the state. Recently the Preservation Lab where I work was transferred from Parks and Historic Sites Division to the Historic Preservation Division, although my job didn't change. I still take care of the historic "stuff."
What do you like most about your job? Working with the historic artifacts is one of the most enjoyable parts of my job. I get to handle them and study them, a real honor. Each object I work with is a key to one small bit of history. I learn something new every time I work with an artifact. I also enjoy working with the various historic site and park staff. They are knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and caring about the history and the artifact they are interpreting.
What do you do on a typical day? One of the nice things about my day is that it's rarely "typical." The work changes with the projects and the artifacts I'm working on. Artifact care is one of my major responsibilities. Sometimes I can do it myself, for example vacuuming a 19th-century quilt (very carefully!) or cleaning and re-mounting a framed piece. Other times an artifact may need the attention of a trained conservator. It's up to me to find the one that is best able to care for the problems of a given object. Artifact documentation is another major responsibility. We've recently downloaded our digital object records into a new museumspecific database. Making sure the records are consistent and complete is a project I'll be working on for some time to come.
Upcoming Events
December 3, 2012 - Public Information Meeting - Brunswick There will be a Public Information Meeting on Monday, December 3 at Old City Hall, 1229 Newcastle Street at 6:00 pm regarding the proposed Windsor Park National Register district.
December 6-7, 2012 - Historic Tax Credit Training - Savannah Co-sponsored by HPD, this training covers the ins and outs of historic preservation tax credits in Georgia. Details and registration information are available at http://www.myhsf.org/advocacy - education/lectures- and - workshops/.
December 8, 2012 - New Harmonies:Celebrating American Roots Music - Toccoa New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music, a Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition, will open in Toccoa on December 8. Performance schedules are available here.
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) 2012 Georgia Historic Preservation Division All rights reserved. Title image: An 1864 illustration of Camp Lawton by Union Private Robert Knox Sneden, a prisoner in the camp. More info