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 Scull Shoals was landscaped as a Recreation Area in the 1960's and early 1970's, but no historic investigations were undertaken until Dr. Kent A. Schneider became the first Forest Archaeologist in 1976 at the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests. In an effort to find out what was known about the old town, he contracted for a history of Scull Shoals, written by Mrs. Caroline Hunt. In addition, Dr. Mark Williams conducted his University of Georgia Archaeology Field School, mapping and testing the Lamar period mound site in 1983 and 1985.  Meanwhile
the Forest Service and contractors began archaeological surveys in and around
the village for its timber management plans. Gradually data was assembled
about the dispersed community, so that by 1997, dozens of historic and prehistoric
sites had been recorded. In 1983, the Forest Service contracted with Dr. Allen Stovall, of the School of Environmental Design, University of Georgia, for a feasibility study of the area. It covered over 2100 acres, including the mounds, mill village, and Sandy Creek beaver pond. Dr. Stovall and his students proposed a three-stage development plan for a multi-use center, with facilities, trails, and interpretive activities for the schools and the public. The study unfortunately came during a downward budget cycle, and was shelved for lack of funds to pursue it. In the early 1990's a group of people from the Institute of Paper Science and Technology, Georgia Tech's History of Technology department, the Forest Service, local historians, exhibit specialists, and others met to discuss the site of Georgia's first paper mill. As a result, Friends of Scull Shoals was incorporated in December 1996, with University of Georgia Professor Mark Reinberger, the first President, as the impetus for current developments.   |
