Army Corps of Engineers Unveils New Archaeological Exhibit for public display

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, has recently unveiled a new exhibit created by the Veterans Curation Program, showcasing artifacts from Hartwell Lake’s rich prehistoric history.

The exhibit of prehistoric arrowheads and tools was unveiled at the Hartwell Lake Project office Visitors Center in Hartwell on March 16.

Sandy Campbell is the Natural Resource Program Manager for the Corps of Engineers at Hartwell Lake.

She said the artifacts are prehistoric arrowheads and other tools used by Native Americans tens of thousands of years ago.

According to Campbell a local resident collected the points decades ago before the lake was put in.

“We have a brand new archeological display of artifacts, points, that were illegally collected around the lake about 60 years ago when the lake was being impounded and built. Somebody locally picked up the points and put them into a collection and when that person passed away the collection was sold at an estate sale,” Campbell said.

Campbell said it is illegal in Georgia to find and keep archeological artifacts. If found, they must be left where they are found and the Corps of Engineers or Georgia Department of Natural Resources must be contacted.

Campbell said a woman who bought the collection donated it to Mississippi State University.

A professor there noticed the framed display said “Lake Hartwell” on the back so he contacted the Corps of Engineers Savannah office.

Campbel said from there, work began by Corps archeologists and the Veterans Curation Program to identify, date, and catalog the artifacts.

The VCP, established in 2009, provides employment, vocational training, and technological skills to veterans while rehabilitating at-risk Corps archaeological collections. The VCP’s Augusta laboratory received the display of archaeological materials in 2021.

“There are six VCP labs around the country and we are fortunate enough to have a lab in Augusta,” she explained. “So they worked in tandem with our district archeologist Andrea Farmer to take the original display apart, it had glue it had wire on it, and clean it. After they cleaned it and cataloged it they said, ‘What do want to do with it?’ And I said, ‘We need to have this in our Visitors’ Center. We need to share this history with the public.'”

The artifacts plus storyboards outlining which period they believe the points come from are now displayed at the Visitors Center and people can read more about each historic period and the indigenous people of that age who used the tools and points.

The Hartwell Lake Project Office Visitors’ Center is on US29/the Anderson Highway in Hartwell next to the Big Oaks Recreation Center.

The Visitors Center is open Monday – Friday from 8a to 4:30p and Saturday and Sunday from 9a to 5:30p.

And there is no charge to view the artifacts display.