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

In this issue:
-2012-2016 State Preservation Plan is now available -Keep an Eye Out for Centennial Farm Signs -The National Rosenwald Schools Conference -The Popper Site -The Augusta State History Walk
Division Director Dr. David Crass will resume his regular column next month.
2012-2016 State Preservation Plan is now available
By Karen Anderson-Cordova, Environmental Review & Preservation Planning Program Manager
Georgia's state historic preservation plan for 2012-2016 is now available on HPD's website here (PDF). It is divided into three main sections. The first section, "Action Plan," starts with an introduction outlining the main accomplishments of the previous planning cycle (2007-2011), followed by a chapter discussing recent population, housing, transportation, agriculture, tourism and government trends in Georgia and how they relate to or affect historic preservation. The last chapter in this section presents the plan's Mission, Vision, and Goals, including objectives and strategies to accomplish these goals. The second section, "Georgia's Historic and Archaeological Resources," provides updated information on the wide range of historic properties in Georgia and how this rich heritage can be identified, evaluated, and protected. The third section, "The Planning Process," describes how the plan was developed and the public input that formed an integral part of the process. Interspersed amongst the pages of the plan are quotes taken from Georgians who responded to our plan survey. Please take some time to familiarize yourself with it and join with us as we implement the goals, objectives, and strategies of our statewide preservation plan. It is only with the continued support of the preservation community, the strengthening of established partnerships, and the creation of new ones that we will accomplish our preservation goals. More information about the statewide historic preservation planning process is available on the National Park Service's website.
Keep an Eye Out for Centennial Farm Signs
By Steven Moffson, Architectural Historian and Centennial Farm Committee Chair
HPD's Lynn Speno, Steven Moffson, and Charlie Miller pose with some of the 150 boxes that were recently mailed to farms across the state.
In April, staff from the Historic Preservation Division mailed 270 Georgia Centennial Farm signs to 150 farms around the state. This was the first time Centennial Farm signs were offered for sale. Look for the aluminum signs printed with the yellow and brown logo of the Centennial Farm Program at the entrances and along the roadside of Centennial Farms. The Georgia Centennial Farm Program honors Georgia's farmers for their contributions to our state's agricultural heritage and encourages preservation of agricultural resources for future generations. Since its inception in 1993, the Georgia Centennial Farm Program has honored 401 farms from around the state. The program was created to draw attention to historic farms and to encourage their preservation. Nominees must be working farms with a minimum of 10 acres actively involved in agricultural production or generate at least $1,000 in annual income. In addition, farms must have been owned by members of the same family for at least 100 years. Farms that qualify are honored each October at a special award ceremony at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Georgia. The Georgia Centennial Farm Program is administered by HPD in cooperation with the Georgia Farm Bureau Federation, the Georgia Department of Agriculture, the Georgia Forestry Commission, and the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter. For additional information on the program, visit our website or contact Steven Moffson, Chair of the Georgia Centennial Farm Committee, Historic Preservation Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, 254 Washington Street, SW, Ground Level, Atlanta, GA 30334, or at steven.moffson@dnr.state.ga.us.
100 Years of Pride, Progress & Preservation: The National Rosenwald Schools Conference
By Jeanne Cyriaque, African American Programs Coordinator
The Barney Colored School, adopted by the Morven Rosenwald Alumni Association in Georgia, is one of the rehabilitation projects that will be featured in conference educational sessions.
In 1912, Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald met for the first time. These men an educator and a philanthropist, respectively - conceptualized a building program that would provide state-of-the-art schools for African Americans. The program started as an experiment when Washington asked Rosenwald to build a few rural schoolhouses near Tuskegee Institute (presently University) in Alabama so that teachers who were graduating could practice their trade in decent buildings. The program was immediately successful, and by the time of Washington's death in 1915, Tuskegee architects had developed plans for schoolhouses and managed the early years of the program. In 1920, the Julius Rosenwald Fund was established in Nashville, Tennessee, to develop modern school buildings for the program that was by then constructing 400-500 schools each year in 15 Southern states. By the close of the program, over 5,300 schools were built through community partnerships. One in every five rural schools for African Americans in the South were Rosenwald Schools, and one-third of the black population attended school in these buildings. "Fewer than 15 percent of the 5,300 original Rosenwald Schools remain, but they are fortunate to have some very dedicated champions: hundreds of local preservationists throughout the rural South who have stepped up to ensure that the schools - and the important stories they tell live on for the next generation," said Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. For these reasons, the National Trust is sponsoring a nationwide conference dedicated to preservationists, alumni, scholars, and communities that are stewards for the surviving buildings and the stories they represent. The 100 Years of Pride, Progress & Preservation conference is scheduled for June 14-16, 2012 at Tuskegee University. It will have educational sessions, poster presentations, documentaries, and educational tours. Fundraising information, programming strategies, and workshops will be included. These sessions will be held at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center on the Tuskegee campus. Additionally, conference attendees will have opportunities to tour the Tuskegee campus and visit nationally-significant historic sites including The Oaks (home of Booker T. Washington) and the training home of the Tuskegee Airmen Moton Field, site of the opening reception. A conference bookstore will feature book signings each day featuring authors Peter M. Ascoli, Stephanie Deutsch, Mary Hoffschwelle, Betty Reed, and more. A school reunion will be held on Friday night, and noted poet Nikki Giovanni is the featured speaker at the closing plenary. To register for the conference, review the conference program, and for lodging and travel information, visit www.preservationnation.org/rosenwald. Online registration closes on May 15th.
The Popper Site
By Richard Moss, Staff Archaeologist
Example of Napier pottery sherds found at the Popper Site Archaeologists from the Historic Preservation Division recently discovered an interesting and important prehistoric site while conducting an archaeological survey for a proposed DNR boat ramp location along the Ocmulgee River. Called the Popper Site after a previous owner of the land, excavations recovered a considerable amount of a Late Woodland Period (500-1000 CE) pottery type called Napier Complicated Stamped. Named for the Napier site near Macon where it was first described by archaeologists in the late 1930s, this pottery features distinctive and very intricate designs stamped onto the outside of the vessels. While this pottery type is sometimes found in small amounts on larger, multicomponent sites in Georgia, "pure" Napier sites are incredibly rare. We excavated several small test pits and one 1x2 meter test unit. Nearly all of the recognizable pottery found at the Popper Site is Napier. Other artifacts recovered included lithic debitage and numerous bits of carbonized nutshell. Evidence so far suggests this location was used briefly by prehistoric Native Americans some 1300+/- years ago, but not extensively before or since. Single component sites like the Popper Site allow archaeologists to study a narrow slice of time with great clarity, because the archaeological record is not complicated by later deposits. So far, more questions have been raised than answered by this Popper Site discovery. What went on there over a thousand years ago? Was it a special use area like a nutting station, where harvested hickory nuts were processed? Or was it a more permanent settlement, complete with houses and other structures? A Napier domestic structure at the Popper site would be of great significance to Georgia archaeology. The Popper site could also provide radiocarbon dates that would clarify how Napier fits in the chronology of the Late Woodland. Additional excavations are necessary to recover the archaeological data that could address these and other questions.
The Augusta State History Walk
By Dean Baker, Transportation Enhancements Reviewer
The Augusta State History Walk is a four-phase Transportation Enhancement project on the Augusta State University campus that presents and interprets the long history of this area through a variety of means to help bring past events to life. This history includes the previous use of the site as the Augusta Arsenal (1826-1955), and includes information on the surrounding historic neighborhoods of Sand Hills and Summerville. The first phase of the history walk, begun in 2002, included the renovation of the 1866 Arsenal Guardhouse. From this starting point, the walk has expanded across the campus to complete a 1.1-mile walking loop. In addition to the guardhouse and walking trail, the walk also passes by a military cemetery that holds the remains of U. S. and Confederate soldiers and their dependents. The history of the campus is conveyed in a variety of ways along the history walk with brass relief panels that illustrate the layout of the arsenal. The majority of the historical information related to campus life is conveyed through engraved granite pyramids atop brick bases. These informational monuments are found throughout the route and share the history of the area from the early 1800s to the very recent past.
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: A new Georgia Centennial Farm sign in its natural setting.