South Douglas Scenic Byway

The intrinsic qualities of a Scenic Byway describe its scenic, cultural, natural, archaeological, historic and recreational values. Detailed descriptions of all of these values can be found on the GDOT website. The proposed South Douglas Scenic Byway is rich in all of these values.  This post examines the first two qualities – archaeological and historic intrinsic qualities.

Archaeological

The archaeological record includes sub-surface resources that encompass any physical evidence of historic or pre-historic human life or activity. The settlement of the Native Americans of the Mississippian period is well documented in this area.  A later tribe of the Anneewakkee Indians have left a lasting legends imprinted on the narrative history of this area.  A detail of an excavation of an Anneewakkee Creek Mound in Douglas County in 1972 was published in Bulletin #18 of the Southeastern Archaeological Conference in 1975 and is available online.

Historic

The historic footprint of human activities in the landscape is visible through diverse resources along the South Douglas Scenic Byway. Numerous cemeteries in this area have been documented by the Douglas County Cemetery Preservation Commission. 



These cemeteries document some of the earliest settlers in the County in historic communities, including Campbellton, McWhorter and Fairplay. Sites that are listed on and eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, including Beulah Grove Lodge #372 (pictured below) and Basket Creek Cemetery (pictured above).



In addition to these important landmarks of Douglas County’s African American heritage, other National Register eligible resources have been documented in the Douglas County Historic Resources Survey.