Submitted by Kevin Kiernan

Kevin Kiernan, Board member of the Society for Georgia Archaeology, will speak on “WPA Archaeology on St Simons Island during the Great Depression” at The Ashantilly Center in Darien, Georgia, Sunday, September 18, 2011, at 5 PM. 

Preview:  In 1936 the WPA, or Works Progress Administration, provided jobs for St. Simons Island and Glynn County residents to build an airport on the island. Progress on the airport was temporarily halted when bulldozers turned up skeletons of prehistoric Indians. After a preliminary survey by the Smithsonian Institution, a new WPA project was quickly organized to employ out-of-work laborers to excavate the site. Supported by the Society for Georgia Archaeology, the Brunswick Board of Trade, and the Sea Island Company, the Smithsonian hired a professional archaeologist to lead the salvage excavation of the airport, and then during 1936-1937 to proceed to four other major sites on the island: Sea Island Mound, Charlie King Mound, Gascoigne Bluff, and Cannon’s Point. This talk will center on two of these excavations, which are illustrated by recent discoveries of field reports, artifacts, maps, and photographs.

A wine and hors d’oeuvres reception will follow the presentation. $20 for non-members, $15 for members of Ashantilly, and $10 for students with ID.

To view the event flyer click here.

Posted online on Wednesday, September 14th, 2011