Preservation posts: the online journal of the Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Jan. 2017

Preservation Posts, January 2017 View email in your browser

Message from the Director Ga. NR Review Board Meeting Astromony meets Archaeology News and Upcoming Events

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A Message from the Director
by: Dr. David Crass, david.crass@dnr.ga.gov Division Director & Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer
Busy New Year
The Georgia Historic Preservation Division's (HPD) Archaeology, Education and Outreach Section has been busy planning two major education initiatives.
Sarah Love worked for the better part of a year developing archaeology violation training for Ga. DNR's Law Enforcement Division (LED). She will be an instructor in the upcoming Ranger Academy, and is also taking the show on the road, visiting each of our regional offices. We're thrilled that this is a priority for LED, and look forward to feedback from the students so that we can improve our product for the future.
Also, Allison Asbrock and Sarah, with an assist from intern Lauren Ericson, are busy planning the upcoming state historic preservation conference. Readers can learn more about the conference, and how to submit a session proposal, on HPD's Statewide Conference website. I am especially excited about a proposed session focusing on communications with policymakers. We'll have a special guest for that session who has deep knowledge of legislative affairs!
"Thank you" to our many partners in this year's conference: The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, Madison-Morgan County, and the Georgia Alliance of Preservation Commissions. Be sure to mark your calendars for May 18-20, and join us in Madison for what promises to be a great learning opportunity!

On another note: Recently proposed Georgia House Bill 59 addresses the 2016 Georgia House of Representatives Historic Preservation Study Committee's recommendations. We're early in the legislative process on this, but HPD will probably be called on to furnish information regarding our tax program to our policy makers. HPD also gave a brief presentation to the Georgia House of Representative's Natural Resources Committee last week as part of a broader briefing on DNR's various programs. On the national level, we're beginning to assemble our materials for our annual calls on our congressional delegation. This is an opportunity for us to hear their concerns face-to-face, and to educate them as to the role of State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs). As always, we will call on congressional offices in conjunction with the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers Annual Meeting in mid-March. We always welcome folks to come with us to visit our delegation, so if you are interested, let us know. Always feel free to call me directly or come in for a visit with any questions or concerns!
National Register Review Board Meeting
- Preview and Pop Quiz for the March NR Review Board Meeting
by: Laura Beth Ingle, laurabeth.ingle@dnr.ga.gov Architectural Historian
The Georgia Historic Preservation Division (HPD) is hosting its semi-annual meeting of the Georgia National Register Review Board on Friday, March 3, 2017. The meeting will be held in the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Boardroom, located in the East Tower of the James H. "Sloppy" Floyd Building, at 2 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in downtown Atlanta. The complete agenda, short summaries of each proposed nomination, and other details can be found on HPD's website. The meeting is open to the public. If you plan to attend, please contact Lynn Speno, at lynn.speno@dnr.ga.gov. The meeting is an important step in the multi-phase process that leads to National Register listing for historic properties. Nomination sponsors have been working diligently with HPD to ensure that all the required documentation for each property has been submitted, and it is exciting to see these properties moving forward in the process! During the session, HPD staff will present information about the history and significance of each property to Review Board members, who will have an opportunity to comment and ask questions, before voting on whether a respective property meets applicable National Register criteria. Following approval by the board, HPD staff will finalize each nomination before sending it to the National Park Service for listing. In addition to nominations, the meeting will include a presentation by HPD's African American Programs Coordinator, Melissa Jest, who will provide an overview of the African American Resources Program and an update of ongoing and upcoming projects. In March, six properties will be presented. Among these are churches, a school, individual houses, and a commercial building. The historic resources are spread across the state, from the northwest (in Polk County) to the southeast (in Ware County); they encompass a variety of building types and styles, and are significant for a wide range of reasons. To help readers get more familiar with these properties, we have again, as we have done in past issues of Preservation Posts, put together a pop quiz. So without further ado, let's get started!
(Answers at bottom of the article)
1. The B. Mifflin Hood Brick Company Building is being nominated for its association with the company's founder, B. Mifflin Hood. In addition to his advances in the industry of brick-making and ceramics, Hood is also significant for his association with which social movement?
A. Women's suffrage B. Ending the convict leasing system C. Education reform D. Implementing national medical insurance

2. The Kenneth and Hazel Meredith House, in Atlanta, is being nominated under the area of landscape architecture, as well as architecture. Which Georgia-based landscape architect, who also designed Atlanta's Chastain Park, is associated with the house?
A. Hubert Bond Owens B. Clermont Huger Lee C. William L. Monroe, Sr. D. Cari Goetcheus
3. First African Baptist Church, in Dublin, is a good example of the corner-tower church type, and exhibits Gothic Revival style. In addition to its significance in the area of architecture, the church is also significant for its role in Dublin's African American community.The church's large and engaged membership took part in a wide variety of activities from choirs and missionary work to community-wide events, such as oratory competitions. Which prominent Civil Rights Movement leader spoke at First African Baptist Church as a teenager?
A. John Lewis B. Martin Luther King, Jr. C. Ralph David Abernathy D. Andrew Young
4. Durham Place, in the small town of Maxeys, includes several historic and non-historic resource types typically found in Georgia, such as a gabled-wing cottage, smokehouse, chicken coop, shed, and barn. Additionally, the property has which one of these rarely seen historic resources?
A. A calaboose B. An opera house C. A carousel D. An apothecary/doctor's office

5. St. James' Episcopal Church, in Cedartown, is a good example of which subcategory of the Gothic Revival style?
A. Carpenter Gothic B. Collegiate Gothic C. Gothic Rococo D. High Victorian Gothic
6. Manor School, located in Ware County, is a good example of a consolidated rural public school. As detailed in the statewide context, Public Elementary and Secondary Schools in Georgia, 1868-1971, building footprints of schools often took the shape of letters. Which of these is NOT a common letter plan in Georgia?
A. E B. H C. W D. T
Answers - 1: B, 2: C, 3: B, 4: D, 5: A, 6: C
Archaeological Reflections of the Sky
- Astronomy has played a major role in our past
by: Emma Mason, emma.mason@dnr.ga.gov Archaeology Program Assistant
Archaeoastronomy, as defined by cultural astronomer Fabio Silva, is "the study of how people have understood, conceptualized and used the phenomena in the sky, and what role the sky played in their cultures by analyzing material remains."* Through ethnographic documentation, we know that many cultures harvested their plants or held celebrations marked by the positions of the moon or certain planets. Evidence of the influence and knowledge of astronomy is abundant at places like Stonehenge, Teotihuacan, Angkor Wat and others. So, what are some examples from Georgia and the greater Southeast, and how does archaeology help with interpretations?
Cross-in-circle motif on shell gorget found at Etowah (illustration overlaid to show general design) [Left] and a shell gorget from Spiro Mounds in Oklahoma depicting cross-in-circle iconography.
The sun, moon, stars, and planets are represented in historical art and architecture throughout the Southeast. Some archaeologists have suggested that cross-in-circle motifs found at the Etowah Indian Mounds Historic Site may generally be interpreted as the four corners of earth and the sun. It has also been put forth by researchers that the iconography depicted in the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex showed the "celestial realm of a layered cosmos".* On a larger scale, the placement and orientation of mounds and mound groups are similarly symbolic. East, the direction represented by the rising sun, has significance in the placement of structures across the region. For example, Mound A at Etowah faces the plaza to the east. Furthermore, others have suggested that the Kolomoki Indian Mounds are aligned for solstices and equinoxes.* Woodhenge, at Cahokia, is said to be a calendar of solstices and equinoxes.
Orientation of Mound A (top), Mound B (middle right), and Mound C (lower left) at Etowah (Google, 2017).
Other examples are ubiquitous. And while we can see evidence of the influence of the sky in art and architecture, we rely heavily on the oral histories and folklore among southeastern tribes to explain the importance of the sky. In particular, the Cherokees have passed down stories about the origins of the Milky Way and the constellation Pleiades, while the Creeks often spoke about the Upper World, and of visiting the skies. In the Southeast, there is still a lot to be determined concerning the role of the sky and how it affected daily life. Some claims regarding "cosmology" and the "celestial world" can seem a bit far-out, and it's crucial to be cautious about interpretations that cannot be tested. For now, however, we're able to look at oral histories and the objects we do have to better understand just how important the sky was to early inhabitants of the Southeast.
* Cited: - Silva, Fabio and Nicholas Campion (Eds.). 2015. Skyscapes: The Role and Importance of the Sky in Archaeology. Oxbow
Books, Oxford, pp.2. - Cobb, Charles and Adam King, 2005. Re-Inventing Mississippian Tradition at Etowah, Georgia. Journal of Archaeological
Method and Theory, 12(3):167-192. - Knight, Vernon James, Jr., James A. Brown, and George E. Lankford, 2001. On the Subject Matter of Southeastern
Ceremonial Complex Art, Southeastern Archaeology 20(2):129. - Hardman, Clark Jr. and Marjorie Hardman. 1991. Kolomoki: A Prehistoric Linear Solar Observatory and Horizon Calendar.
The Soto States Anthropologist 91(3):195-227. - King, Adam. 2007. Southeastern Ceremonial Complex: Chronology, Content, and Contest. University of Alabama Press,
Tuscaloosa. Pp. 22.
Recent News & Announcements
- Preservation Posts Changing Email Client Beginning with the February issue of Preservation Posts, HPD's monthly e-Newsletter will be delivered using a new email client. Obversable changes for subscribers will be minimal. We at HPD have transferred all subscribers onto our new service, but if you would like to confirm your subscription to receive Preservation Posts and HPD Press Releases, please visit our new Subscription Page, and after entering your email address, select boxes for the "Historic Preservation Division," along with any other newsletters you might be interested in receiving. Thank you for your readership! - Atlantic Greyhound Bus Terminal Listed in the National Register (Press Release - Jan. 9)
Upcoming Events
February 2017 - Cator Woolford Gardens at the Frazer Center - Atlanta The Cator Woolford Gardens, located at 1815 S. Ponce De Leon Ave. NE in Atlanta, Ga., is hosting a forum on preserving cultural landscapes, on Tuesday, February 21, 2017 (9 a.m. to 12 p.m.). The intent of this Forum is to demystify cultural landscapes. Three speakers with cultural landscape expertise will answer questions, as well as explore the types of cultural landscapes in Georgia. This Forum will provide an overview of the concept of cultural landscapes and their role in the field of historic preservation. Join us for a visit to the site! Learn more and RSVP at atlpreservationforum.eventbrite.com. Have questions? Contact Dana De Lessio at 404-4633284 or ddelessio@atlantaregional.com. March 2017 - National Register Review Board Meeting - Atlanta The Georgia Historic Preservation Division (HPD) is hosting its semi-annual meeting of the Georgia National Register Review Board on Friday, March 3, 2017. The meeting will be held in the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Boardroom, located in the East Tower of the James H. "Sloppy" Floyd Building, at 2 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in downtown Atlanta. The complete agenda, short summaries of each proposed nomination, and other details can be found on HPD's website. The meeting is open to the public. If you plan to attend, please contact Lynn Speno, at lynn.speno@dnr.ga.gov. March 2017 - Phoeniz Flies - Atlanta The Atlanta Preservation Center (APC) will present the 14th Phoenix Flies: A Celebration of Atlanta's Historic Sites March 4-26, 2017. With more than 90 Preservation Partners, this award-winning celebration gives a fun and informative experience of Atlanta's history through more than 100 events, including guided walking tours, lectures and storytelling, open houses and much more. All events are free to the public; reservations may be required for some events. Stay tuned to preserveatlanta.com for updates. May 2017 - Statewide Historic Preservation Conference - Madison The Georgia Historic Preservation Division (HPD) is happy to announce the return of the Statewide Historic Preservation Conference! The Historic Preservation Division, in partnership with the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, the Georgia Alliance of Preservation Commissions, and the City of Madison, invites you to Madison for the 2017 Statewide Historic Preservation Conference, May 18-20. This conference brings together preservationists, architects, architectural historians, archaeologists, city and county administrators, city and county council members, genealogists, historians, historic preservation commissioners, and planning and preservation students from across Georgia for two days of informative presentations, interactive field sessions, and unique networking opportunities. For additional information, visit the 2017 Statewide Conference website.
Would you like to see an event listed? Email jeff.harrison@dnr.ga.gov
Want to Contribute?
Submit a Guest Article
Preservation Posts is published to inform the public about historic preservation issues and developments from the perspective of the SHPO. In keeping with that purpose, HPD has inaugurated a new policy of occasionally soliciting guest articles that are directly related to our statutorily mandated programs. Please note that we do not publish opinion pieces. We also retain editorial control as well as the right to reject any submission. To pitch or submit a piece, or ask questions concerning an idea, email HPD Public Affairs Coordinator Jeff Harrison at jeff.harrison@dnr.ga.gov.
Title Image: The Atlantic Greyhound Bus Terminal, now the The Grey Restaurant, located at 109 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in Savannah (Chatham County). The historic resource was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in January. The building was rehabilitated using federal and state tax incentives for rehabilitation.
Copyright 2017 DNR Historic Preservation Division, All rights reserved.
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