Camden County Archaeological Survey
Camden County, Georgia

Coastal Incentive Grant Status Report

"Archaeological Site Inventory, Camden County, Georgia"

April 4, 2006

A. Summary of Work Completed

The following milestones have been completed for the
Camden County Archaeological Survey:

1. Archaeology Workshops
Archaeology Workshops were held in December 2005 and January 2006. The first workshop on December 3 was an "Artifact Identification Day," where the local public was invited to bring their artifacts for identification. Prehistoric and historic ceramics from Camden County were on display for viewing, and a perpetual slide show ran on a laptop computer. About twenty people attended during the day, half of whom entered their names on a sign-up sheet. Only three or four actually brought their artifacts, but contact information was established.

A second sign-up sheet was available for people interested in volunteering on a dig in St. Augustine. That expedition took place on January 18, 2006. St. Augustine city archaeologist Carl Halbirt conducted fieldwork within the historic section of the town. Carolyn Rock led a caravan of four volunteers to participate in a day-long session of fieldwork, under the direction of Mr. Halbirt.

The third archaeology workshop, entitled "Artifact Collectors' Workshop," was administered on January 28, 2006, to help collectors organize and identify their artifacts. An introductory slide show was first presented about archaeology in Camden County. The slide presentation was followed by sessions on ethics in archaeology, step-by-step methods for collections organization, and an overview of completing Georgia Archaeological Site Forms. Finally, artifacts were presented and discussed according to type and age. About 25 people attended this event, over half of whom entered their names on the sign-up sheet.

2. Website Formation.
The website, http://www.camdencounty.org/CCAS, has been created and running since January 2006.

3. Background Archaeological Research Summary.
Background archaeological research for Camden County was conducted to identify previously documented sites, as well as to assess potential site locations. The Georgia Archaeological Site Files at the University of Georgia, Athens, provided information about sites already recognized. In addition, the Historical Resources Survey reports (funded by the Historic Preservation Division of Georgia) for Camden County supplied locations for historic buildings.

Identification of potential sites required a study of the topography, prehistory and history of the county. The Map Collections at the University of Georgia Library, documents available at the Office of the State Archaeologist, and local material at the Bryan-Lang Historical Library in Woodbine were researched. Local information included several county history books, a collection of 1918 USGS maps, nineteenth century maps, and vertical files on miscellaneous places and histories within the county.

Background research is also currently being conducted to assess the potential for underwater archaeological sites. The underwater plan will be included in a separate manuscript as part of the Final Report of this project.

Physical Environment
Camden County is the southeasternmost county in Georgia. It lies on the lower edge of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, and is characterized by a low, level, relatively swampy mainland bordered on the east by a vast expanse of tidal marsh and the intracoastal waterway. East of the waterway lies a large barrier island (Cumberland Island) and the Atlantic Ocean. The western border of the county is termed the "sandhill" section due to the undulating nature of the topography created by ancient sand dunes. The middle of the county is marked by low flatlands interspersed with inland wetlands and small creeks. Two navigable rivers traverse the mainland. The St. Marys River is the county's southern border, and was historically navigable at least as far as Traders Hill forty miles upstream. The Satilla River winds its way through the middle of Camden, and is navigable inland to Burnt Fort and beyond. Other smaller streams wandering through the landscape include Little Satilla River, Waverly Creek, White Oak Creek, Crooked River, North River, and Catfish Creek.

Climate and vegetation are typical of a semi-tropical ecosystem. The climate is characterized by hot summers and mild winters, plentiful rainfall, and year-round moderate to high humidity. Natural vegetation overstory is made up of pine and a variety of southern hardwoods. The low inland flatlands have for the most part been planted and replanted in slash pine by timber or paper companies.

Over 90% of land in Camden is not suitable for habitation without major land alterations. Rigdon and Green's (1980:82ff) soil map (Figure 1) shows that major tracts of Mandarin-Rutlege and Pottsburg-Cainhoy sands (the only soil areas not subject to periodic flooding) are located only at certain points on Cumberland Island, the bluff near Woodbine, the western sandhill section, and the eastern ends of four "peninsulas" (St. Marys/Kings Bay, Floyds Neck, east of White Oak, Dover Bluff). The generalized map, however, does not show a myriad of small pockets of higher ground; thus sites could potentially be located on "islands" of habitable areas throughout the county.

Prehistory and History
The earliest evidence of prehistoric occupation in Camden County consists of corner-notched and stemmed Early and Middle Archaic points (8000-3000 B.C.), generally found singly and scattered. Late Archaic (3000-1000 B.C.) stone tools, particularly Savannah River points, and fiber-tempered pottery, have been recovered in greater quantities and tend to be found in concentrations on higher ground near streams or estuaries, signifying temporary campsites or villages. Although Late Archaic occupations on other areas of the coast were often associated with oyster shell, Late Archaic sites in Camden County contained no or very little shell.

The Woodland Period of prehistoric occupation (1000 B.C. to A.D. 1000) was marked by a change in pottery style to Satilla series semi-fiber tempered ceramics (1000-500 B.C.), followed by Deptford (sand or grit tempered, check stamped and simple stamped, c. 500 B.C.- A.D. 500), and Swift Creek (complicated stamped, c. A.D. 500-800 in Camden). Oyster shell middens were common in the eastern portions of the county. Occupation sites were larger, more numerous, and appeared to be more permanent than those from the Late Archaic Period.

The onset of the Mississippian Period was accompanied by Savannah cordmarked ceramics (c. A.D. 1000-1500). Savannah check stamped or complicated stamped wares were rare or absent. The Savannah peoples in Camden appeared to act more like their Woodland Period ancestors than like the more complexly organized Mississippian cultures to the north or inland. No evidence of corn cultivation has been found, and of the four small mounds recorded, none have been positively identified to any particular time period. The only irrefutable house patterns (signifying more permanent settlement patterns) located in Camden have been attributed to the Deptford and Swift Creek cultures. One Deptford house site was uncovered by University of Florida researcher Jerald Milanich on Cumberland Island, and one Swift Creek house site by University of Florida researcher Karen Jo Walker at Kings Bay.

Spanish missionaries found the Timucua Indians active throughout the area in A.D. 1500s. The Timucua manufactured a grog-tempered pottery quite different from Savannah cordmarked. The mechanisms of change from Savannah to Timucuan San Pedro ceramics have not been identified. The Timucua were known to harvest fields of corn for sustenance. Their political system exhibited a solid and well-organized chiefdom society.

Spanish attempts at missionizing the local Indian population changed the culture forever. Disease decimated the number of people so that the indigenous mode of social organization virtually disappeared. As the Timucua decreased in numbers, Guale Indians from the northern Georgia coast moved in and occupied current or former mission villages. Their pottery was grit-tempered and simple stamped or line-block stamped.

Friction between England and Spain eventually resulted in English gaining control of the Camden area. Two British forts were established on Cumberland Island, and one at Burnt Fort on the Satilla River, but little settlement was accomplished until after the American Revolution. Beginning in the 1780s, many settlers migrated to this previously untamed land. They established several rice plantations along the Satilla River. After the cotton gin was invented, cotton was planted on Cumberland and less extensively on the mainland. The huge oak, cypress and pine trees provided valuable resources for the timber industry. Slavery became well entrenched to provide labor for the rice, cotton, and lumber businesses.

St. Marys, the most southern seaport in the United States, was begun in 1787. American forts were established at strategic places along the St. Marys River, including Point Peter and St. Marys. A trading post was known to exist at Coleraine. The county seat was located for a time at Jeffersonton on the Satilla River. During the War of 1812, Americans saw action at Point Peter and along other parts of the St. Marys River.

The Civil War brought no major battles to Camden, but Union gunboats were constantly plying the rivers and exchanging gunfire with snipers. A few confederate camps have been documented as located in Camden.

After the Civil War many plantations were abandoned. Small farms became the norm. By the late 1800s, turpentining and timbering created a boom in business, but the boom settled to bust by the 1920s as trees were over-harvested. Fishing endured as a small industry along the coast.

In the late 1940s, Gilman Paper Company established a mill in St. Marys, bringing new people and jobs to the area. Little changed until the Navy built a submarine base at Kings Bay during the late 1970s. Since then, Camden has more than quadrupled in population. It (as well as the rest of the coast) is presently attracting retirees and land speculators, creating an unprecedented housing growth.

Georgia Archaeological Site Files
An investigation of the Georgia Archaeological Site Files (GASF) revealed that 246 sites have been recorded for Camden County as of March 20, 2006. Most site documentations were a result of two separate studies completed during the 1970s: one by the National Park Service for Cumberland Island and vicinity, and another by the University of Florida for the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base.

Site recordings were analyzed by decade using NAHRGIS, the online GIS system incorporating archaeological sites in Georgia (Table 1). In the 1960s, the University of Georgia conducted a "Satilla River Expedition." Seven sites along the Satilla River were recorded. The 1970s saw the largest number of sites documented (n=172). Chester DePratter researched four mound sites excavated by C.B. Moore in 1897, and designated them as 9CM1, 2, 3, and 4. The National Park Service conducted its survey of Cumberland Island and surrounding areas, eventually recording more than fifty sites on the island, and over thirty houses in St. Marys. Black Point was considered a potential embarkation point at the time and was surveyed, resulting in the recording of twelve sites. In 1977 the University of Florida began surveying the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base and eventually found more than forty sites.

Table 1. Number of sites recorded at GASF, by decade.
Decade   #Sites
1960s7
1970s172
1980s27
1990s12
2000-628
Total Sites246

The 1980s experienced a slow period for archaeological finds in Camden County. Just 27 sites were documented. Ten were additional sites on the Navy Base, 5 from DNR projects, 4 DOT projects, and 8 miscellaneous ventures. The 1990s were equally slow, recording just 12 sites, three of them revisions of previous documentation.

From 2000 to 2002, three sites were found. The period from 2003 to the present time, however, has witnessed a boom in waterfront development and therefore mandated archaeological surveys, resulting in the recording of 25 sites, with many more in the works. Eleven sites were discovered by Environmental Services near Hull Island, 9 by Brockington & Associates on Point Peter, and 5 by the South Georgia Archaeological Research Team in miscellaneous areas.

A survey of the distribution of sites recorded showed that most were located on the eastern end of the county, near Kings Bay, St. Marys or Cumberland Island. Remarkably few were in the western two-thirds of the county. This uneven distribution is simply a function of survey effort rather than of actual occupation distribution.

Sites in the GASF were analyzed according to time period of occupation (Table 2). No Paleo-Indian sites (15,000 - 8,000 BC) have yet been recorded in Camden County. Early (8,000-6,000 BC) and Middle (6,000-3,000 BC) Archaic Sites were rare. Late Archaic (3,000-1,000) sites, accompanied by fiber-tempered pottery, marked the beginning of more intensive occupation of the area. Later Woodland (1,000 BC-AD 1,000) and Mississippian (AD 1,000-1500) sites were more abundant than Late Archaic. It is interesting to note that Woodland sites outnumbered Missisppian. Historic Indian sites were represented by a fair number. Not surprisingly, the largest category of sites were Historic Non-Indian. The total number of sites recorded by occupation is greater than the number of sites in the County because many sites contain multiple components.

Most archaeological investigations showed that preferred areas of occupation were higher drier land areas located on low bluffs overlooking rivers or estuaries. These limited locations have been ideal living spots since early prehistoric human habitation in the county, beginning about 1650 B.C. or earlier. The low bluffs generally provided access to a multitude of resource areas: the hardwood hammocks on the bluff, the adjacent marshes and waterways, and the inland lowland pine forests and swamps.

Table 2. Number of sites recorded at GASF, by time period of occupation.
Period - #Sites
General Archaic - 2
Early Archaic - 1
Middle Archaic - 1
Late Archaic - 23
Total Archaic (8000-1000 B.C.) - 27
General Woodland - 6
Early Woodland - 7
Middle Woodland - 50
Late Woodland - 26
Total Woodland (1000 B.C. - 1000 A.D.) - 89
General Mississippian - 4
Early Mississippian - 1
Middle Mississippian - 39
Late Mississippian - 22
Total Mississippian (A.D. 1000-1500) - 66
Protohistoric - 2
Historic Indian - 25
Historic Non-Indian - 112
Unknown Indian - 18
Unknown - 63
No Data - 3

Reference
Rigdon, Thomas A, and Alfred J. Green; 1980 Soil Survey of Camden and Glynn Counties, Georgia. USDA, Soil Conservation Service.

4. Interviews and Field Reconnaissance, Phase I: A Summary
Interviews were conducted with several local citizens who were familiar with the history of the county. They are listed in the following table.

Name -  Residence -  Information obtained
Perry, Chock -  Woodbine  - History of Woodbine area, and specific location of plantation or homestead sites
Sheffield, Rodney  - Kingsland  - History of the area west of Kingsland
Thompson, Eloise -  St. Marys -  History and general location of several plantations and dead towns.
Thompson, Shirley  - Burnt Fort area  - General location and history of the Sandhills area

Other interviewees were artifact collectors or citizens who knew about individual sites. Their names are not published here due to the sensitive nature of artifacts and sites. Valuable information was gathered concerning prehistoric sites north of Waverly, west of the Old Post Road, and along the St. Marys River. Where appropriate, interviews were followed by field reconnaissance. With the exception of underwater sites, all sites have been visited. The underwater sites were pinpointed with accuracy on a large-scale map, and forms completed accordingly. Thus far in this project, Georgia Archaeological Site Forms have been completed for 64 sites, an increase of 26% for sites documented.

Photographs were taken of every site visited. Associated artifacts if any were also photographed. Photographs will be included with the final report.

Several sites are worthy of further mention. A group of prehistoric sites was located and identified by one collector who thankfully could identify which artifact groups came from which site, and the exact location of each site. These sites ranged in age from Early Archaic to Late Woodland, and were found in one general area in the north section of the county.

Several nineteenth century plantation sites were located and identified, including Hazelhurst (Hazlehurst), Woodbine, Incachee, Cambray, Refuge, Laurel Island, Ivanhoe, Readdick, Moire, and Woodlawn. Nineteenth century dock sites noted were Owens Ferry and Oakwell (Oak Well).

Late nineteenth - early twentieth century sites were plentiful. Those recorded thus far included church sites, cemeteries, sawmills, ricemills, and homesteads. Cemeteries were recorded only if they were overgrown, fenceless or otherwise not well marked. Thus our recording will alert future researchers of their presence so that they will not be overlooked in the event of future development. Family cemeteries are also clues to the potential presence of nearby homesteads.

5. Lectures: Guale Historical Society, Camden Newcomers Alumni Club, Family History Workshop
In October 2005 and February and March 2006, lectures about the Camden Archaeological Survey were presented to the local Guale Historical Society, the Camden Newcomers Alumni Club, and the Family History Workshop.

6. Valdosta State University Field School 
A VSU class, ANTH 4900 Public Archaeology, was taught during 2006 Spring Term A. It involved the students directly in the archaeology inventory survey and exhibits.

8. Exhibit
A local traveling exhibit has been completed. It is a traveling tri-fold board presently on display in the St. Marys / Camden library.

B. Summary of Work To Be Completed
The following milestones are still to be completed:
1. Lecture, Archaeology / DNR Workshop, Brunswick.
A lecture is scheduled to be presented in Brunswick on Wednesday, May 24, 2006. The lecture will be part of a free all-day symposium open to the public, "Archaeological Perspectives on Coastal Georgia".

Who, what, when, where, how, why?

• Archaeologists telling about "Archaeological Perspectives on Coastal Georgia" 
  Wednesday, May 24, 2006, from 8:00 AM thru 5:00 PM.   
• Morning session: Conference Room downstairs at the Coastal Georgia Regional Development Center (CGRDC)
• Location: 127 "F" Street, Brunswick, GA-adjacent to Mary Ross Waterfront Park at the corner of Bay/F Streets
• Afternoon session: Brunswick's historic Old City Hall, upstairs in Council/Courtroom
• Location:  1229 Newcastle Street, Brunswick, GA-corner of Mansfield/Newcastle Streets

2. Archaeology Club formation.
Attempts have been made to begin a chapter of the Society for Georgia Archaeology, but there does not appear to be enough interest as yet to get a club moving. We will keep trying. Anybody interested?

3. Interviews and Fieldwork continuing.
Interviews and fieldwork are continuing at the present time, and are scheduled to end by May 2006. However, if other sites are discovered between May and September 2006, they will be added to the inventory.

4. Brochure for Planners.
A brochure for planners will be completed by August 2006.

5. Local and regional exhibits.
The local tri-fold exhibit board has been completed. The regional exhibit board will be completed by September 2006. The website continues to be updated.

6. Survey inventory report.
The survey inventory report will be completed by September 2006.

7. Final report.
A final report will be completed by September 2006. The report will include the above information plus a preliminary underwater archaeology plan.

The CCAS web site is maintained by Tara D. Fields (c) 2005-2006. Content is owned and copyrighted (c) 2005-2006 by Carolyn Rock, unless otherwise noted. Click here to find out how to cite this web site.

Acknowledgment and Disclaimer: This project is funded by the Coastal Management Program of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The website was prepared by Carolyn Rock of Valdosta State University under award #NA05NOS4191212 from the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of OCRM or NOAA.