Foreword
In 1971, President Richard Nixon signed Executive Order 11593, Protection and Enhancement of the Cultural Environment, which required federal agencies to take the lead in establishing programs for the protection of significant historic resources "for the inspiration and benefit of the people...". This landmark directive has been a central force in the development and ultimate success of cultural resource management programs that have required close cooperation between federal and state agencies.
Two federal agencies, in consultation with our state governments, have played key roles in these endeavors: the National Park Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. With the Richard B. Russell Dam and Lake Cultural Resource Investigations Program, these agencies combined forces to produce a truly outstanding result. This multi-million dollar, twenty-year program has yielded a vast array of invaluable information on the cultural history of the upper Savannah River in the central Piedmont of Georgia and South Carolina.
The National Park Service and the Corps have placed heavy emphasis on producing a popular account that is both informative and entertaining. This volume is easy to read and successfully informs the reader. To the extent that this popular account has been prepared "for the inspiration and benefit of the people," we believe it to be an exemplary effort.
We applaud these efforts to inform the public of the rich cultural heritage of our states.
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