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 Location was extremely important to the development and success of the historic mill and village of Scull Shoals. From a physical standpoint, the deep shoals and waterpower provided the necessary energy to run a turbine that powered the four-story mill. Its location, downstream from severely eroding and abandoned cotton fields led to its downfall again, as the river silted in, power became inconsistent and eventually devastating flooding became the norm. Location also plays an ironic and important role today. The property is not easily accessible, so maintaining a public facility with up to date public amenities will be costly or prohibitive. Preservation and interpretative plans have factored this component into the current thinking and have tried to come with creative ways to de-emphasize this limitation. Maintaining the sense of place as a quiet, natural environment is an important challenge for those who plan for future educational efforts in this tranquil, isolated location.
This historic village location is on public lands of the Oconee National Forest. In partnership with the private sector through the non-profit Friends of Scull Shoals, the sky is the limit for its future, within the management plans for the national forest Current plans include a dispersed educational center to serve the people of the surrounding area: public and private schools, colleges and universities, civic, social, church, and interest groups, and travelers branching out from historic Route 441 from New England to Florida. Presently, we are laying out walking trails within and around the historic village; others will follow to outlying sites and features, such as the Sandy Creek beaver swamp and the two Lamar mounds at the Indian village north of the mills. They should be ready by early to mid- summer of 2001. They will have interpretive signs at the points of interest, and interpretive brochures and tapes for self-guided tours will be available for visitors. These trails were outlined in Allen Stovall's 1984 Feasibility Study of Scull Shoals. Additional plans are in the works for pit toilets near the historic village, and a teaching pavilion and interpretive visitor center are envisioned atop the hill and away from the 19th century village. Guided Tours for the public are offered several times a year, and tie-ins with historical activities in the surrounding communities will be sought through the respective Chambers of Commerce and other outlets. The Friends will provide guides, first by volunteers, then as the intensity increases, seasonal staff of students from local colleges will be employed. In the future, with the growth of staff, instructors and interpreters will provide classes for local and area students in ecology, history, archaeology, and the other sciences and social sciences, and make presentations to the public. The classes will be coordinated with the schools' curricula, to expand and enrich the programs already in place. Classes can be done both at the site and in the students' classrooms, depending on the schools' schedules. The non-profit Friends of Scull Shoals, Inc. is planning for a wide range of services and programs. They are supported initially by the memberships and donations, then hopefully by grants and cooperative agreements. Later support should come from the organizations and individuals for whom the services are provided. It is expected that it may be a decade before the educational services are self-supporting, but eventually the Scull Shoals Educational Center should provide full services for the communities it serves. Thus the public is actively involved in doing history and archaeology at Scull Shoals. Volunteers, directed by professionals, are making great strides to seek out and understand all aspects of the environment, prehistory and history of the land and people of the community we call Scull Shoals. It is truly a cultural landscape: one located historically and one filled with present day researchers, interpreters, students and visitors.  |
