Andrews Cove Culvert, Andrews Creek on Unicoi Turnpike, Helen

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER GA-164. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Andrews Cove Culvert is located over Andrews Creek along the Unicoi Turnpike/ SR 75, north of Helen in White county, Georgia. The Andrews Cove Culvert is located at latitude: longitude: The coordinate represents the middle of the culvert deck. This coordinate was obtained on October 25, using Georgia s Natural, Archaeological, and Historic Resources GIS (GNAHRGIS). The coordinate s datum is North American Datum The Andrews Cove Culvert has no restriction on its release to the public. Date(s) of Construction: The Andrews Cove Culvert appears to have been constructed ca. By when plans were drafted by the Georgia Department of Transportation for the paving of State Route 75, the culvert already spanned Andrews Creek.

Engineer/Builder: The Civilian Conservation Corps constructed the culvert as they were working on road improvements in the area, including the realignment of the Unicoi Turnpike. The work was most likely constructed by the men of Camp Robertstown, located nearby. Original Owner and Use: The US Forest Service historically owned and currently owns the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, where Andrews Cove is located. The Georgia Department of Transportation owns and maintains the Unicoi Turnpike/ SR 17/ SR 75.

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER GA-164. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Andrews Cove Culvert possesses a regional level of significance as a double- barrel arch CCC culvert. The culvert is significant for its association with the a government entity whose contribution of labor in forests, parks, and range lands left a physical imprint on North Georgia in the mid-to-late The culvert is also a significant representative example of a structural steel-plate, double-barrel arch culvert with stone facing, a design which was typical of other CCC culverts in the area. The culvert was completed by the CCC during their road improvement projects through the mountains and the realignment of the Unicoi Turnpike, one of the earliest roads over the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Description: The Andrews Cove Culvert is a structural steel-plate, double-barrel arch culvert with a stone fa ade. The stone fa ade consists of fieldstones and quarried stones arranged in a random pattern with no visible evidence of shaping or tapering on either the headwalls or wing walls. The stone was most likely quarried nearby. Voussoirs border the arches; however there is no evident keystone. A small buttress separates the arches. The underside of the barrel is faced with corrugated, galvanized steel plates. Most of the original stone facing remains intact, ANDREWS COVE CULVERT HAER No. GA-164 (Page 2) however heavy semi-truck and vehicular traffic has caused some damage and deterioration along the deck of the culvert.

The upper portion of the stone headwall on the west fa ade has incurred the most damage, as large semi-trucks have over tracked the hairpin turn on the Unicoi Turnpike. The damage, including breakdown of the roadway material, includes the removal of the fieldstone fa ade and voussoirs, which have fallen into the creek below. History: The Civilian Conservation Corps The established in and ended in was one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt s most successful New Deal programs. Following the wake of the stock market crash in millions of Americans were unemployed and suffering economic hardship.

Signed into law on March 31, as the Emergency Conservation Work Act (ECW), the CCC was a combined effort of several governmental agencies, including the Departments of Labor, Agriculture, Interior, and War. 1 The initial goal of the CCC was to provide work for men by July 1, in the areas of public works, such as forestry, erosion control, flood prevention, and restoration of historic and archaeological resources. 2 By the deadline, approximately men were working in camps across the United States. 3 Typical projects included construction of dams, diversions, roads, trails, buildings, and bridges, as well as fighting forest fires and reducing pests and disease for national forest enhancement.

4 A majority of the projects and work camps were under the jurisdiction of the US Forest Service, as a part of the Department of Agriculture. More than 3 million men, ages worked in camps across the United States as Roosevelt s Tree Army from to 5 Though Roosevelt attempted to make the CCC a permanent agency, it was ended in with the passage of the Labor Federal Security Administration Appropriation Act and the oncoming of World War II. 6 The architecture associated with the known as rustic architecture, is unique to the time period and was developed by the US Forest Service, in conjunction with the National Park Service. The standards and guidelines for design were simple, with native materials that connected the structures to the landscape.

In her research on the Throop notes, Rustic architecture was a function of its own time, and ideally suited to the conditions of a distressed economy and wide-spread unemployment. Labor intensive, rustic architecture employed the 1 Teresa Lotti, From Out of the Soil: The History of Camp Lucretia (master s thesis, University of West Georgia, 2 Ibid., 13. See also Ren Davis, Civilian Conservation Corps, New Georgia Encyclopedia, last modified May 6, 3 Davis, Civilian Conservation Corps. 4 Alison T. Otis, William D. Honey, et al, The Forest Service and Civilian Conservation Corps: (United States Department of Agriculture, 1. 5 Davis, Civilian Conservation Corps. 6 Otis, Honey, et al, Forest Service, 12. ANDREWS COVE CULVERT HAER No.

GA-164 (Page 3) combined efforts of many men, skilled, and unskilled 7 This type of architecture utilized local materials, primarily consisting of timber and quarried stone, in order to carry out the projects needed in each region. During the CCC s nine years of existence, 127 camps operated in Georgia with approximately 200 men at each camp. Some of these camps were located in National Forests, including the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, though the US Forest Service managed CCC camps on both state and private lands. 8 According to the National Park Service, a majority of the projects in the southern region (known as Region 8), consisted of transportation improvements, while work was also focused on forest culture, fire protection, and recreation.

9 The camp closest to Andrews Cove was in Robertstown, a small cross-roads community, north of Helen, Georgia. The camp was known as Company 456 in District B and was established on May 16, 10 The camp was composed of white males, only. District B ranged from North Carolina through Georgia, but was commanded by the General out of Ft. McPherson, Georgia. The men in Company 456 were mostly from Clarke County, Georgia, but also from adjoining counties. 11 According to a firsthand account at Robertstown by a CCC boy: The first work was that of road maintenance. The object was to improve the old roads and to build trails and new roads over the forests for the purpose of making it possible to reach forest fires.

The tools here were the pick, mattock shovel and were used by some for their first time. Cultural forest crews were organized and an extended period was given to the study of trees as to kind, use to man and care. More men went to work in the forest and in a short while the men were almost equally divided into forest crews and road crews. Forest work was to improve the forest by cutting down insignificant trees, caring for the important trees and the like. 12 Road building was essential for forest fire protection, thus culvert construction was also important. Regarding the design of culverts, the CCC trail guidelines notes, The culvert must be large enough to carry flood water. And its floor must be at the level of the channel bed. 7 James R.

Wettstaed, DRAFT: A Legacy in Wood and Stone: An Overview and Management Plan of Depression Era Resources on the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests, Georgia (USDA Forest Service, 8 Inger Wood, History That Will Not Vanish: Preserving the Legacy of the Soil Conservation Service Branch of the Civilian Conservation Corps in Georgia (master s thesis, University of Georgia, 16. 9 Otis, Honey, et al, Forest Service, 50. 10 CCC Camps in Georgia, CCC Legacy, Accessed September 25, 11 Memories of District B: Civilian Conservation Corps, gift to the White County Historical Society, 68. 12 Ibid. ANDREWS COVE CULVERT HAER No. GA-164 (Page 4) These two factors determine the size and shape of the structure. 13 The design usually included a headwall.

The trail guidelines also note, The ends of walls should be flared, as a usual practice, to prevent scouring by flood water. 14 The Truck Trail Handbook, which also provides guidelines for CCC road work, provides a range of materials for culverts, including, stone, timber, corrugated metal pipe arches, and corrugated metal plates. 15 The types of culverts utilized in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest range from simple pipe culverts to box culverts and larger arch culverts. A single-barrel and double-barrel arch design appears to have been used when the culvert spans larger creeks, rather than side drains or ditches.

16 In the area of Andrews Cove, the road bed of SR and the current Unicoi Turnpike has been realigned from the original American Indian Unicoi Trail and the late nineteenth- century toll road Unicoi Turnpike. The Andrews Cove section of the Unicoi Turnpike was realigned by the CCC as they were doing work in the area. By when plans were drafted by the Georgia Department of Transportation for the paving of SR 75, the culvert already spanned Andrews Creek. The previous alignment of the Unicoi Turnpike had fallen into major disrepair and thus was realigned by the resulting in the need for the culvert.

The road was most likely realigned to better serve cars traveling through the area and built with modern safety requirements in mind, as the earlier routes were designed to be 20 wide and 12 wide through narrow gaps. 17 The road now consists of two 12 wide lanes with a 2 shoulder on the northbound lane. The Andrews Cove Culvert, like other CCC culverts in the area, follows the rustic architecture style and utilizes fieldstones bound with mortar for the fa ade. History of the Unicoi Turnpike The Unicoi Turnpike as a whole extends from South Carolina to Tennessee and runs through Georgia and North Carolina. It began as an early American Indian trail and is one of the earliest roads over the Blue Ridge Mountains.

18 In Georgia, much of the original Turnpike is still extant, running through Towns, White, Habersham and Stephens counties. A large portion of the original Unicoi Turnpike has been incorporated into the modern Unicoi Turnpike, with the exception of several alignment shifts, including the shift at Andrews Cove. Some extant portions of the original Unicoi Trail and Unicoi Turnpike have been discovered by archaeologists, and described as an old road bed, which in places is six feet deep. Rocks are pile[d] up along the 13 Christian S. Barter, Margaret Coffin Brown, et al, Acadia Trails Treatment Plan: Cultural Landscape Report for the Historic Hiking Trail System of Acadia National Park, Maine (Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation and National Park Service, 78. 14 Ibid. 15 James R.

Wettstaed, Determination of Eligibility and Effect for Civilian Conservation Corps Culvert Replacements on the Tumbling Creek Road, FSR 22, Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests, Fannin County, Georgia (USDA Forest Service, 8. 16 Ibid., 37. 17 James R. Wettstaed, DRAFT: An Inventory and Assessment of the Unicoi Turnpike on the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests, Habersham, Stephens, Union, and White Counties, Georgia (USDA Forest Service, 21. 18 Ibid., 1. ANDREWS COVE CULVERT HAER No. GA-164 (Page 5) edge of the road and water runoff has caused the road to act like a stream bed. 19 According to James Wettstaed, the Unicoi Turnpike has four main periods of history, including: An early period consists of its use as a trail by the Cherokee and probably other American Indians.

Following this is the documented eighteenth-century existence of the trail. The next period consists of its establishment as the Unicoi Turnpike and its association with the Cherokee Nation. A final, later period consists of its history after the Cherokee Removal and a series of commercial roads and final abandonment. 20 The Unicoi Trail became the Unicoi Turnpike in after the Cherokee authorized the Unicoi Turnpike Company to construct a road through the Cherokee Nation, operate toll roads, and operate a mill. 21 The state of Georgia lobbied the President to authorize the road in order to increase trade potential, as the Unicoi Trail was known for its travel difficulty.

22 The influx of Americans to Cherokee lands made a major impact on the Cherokee Nation, especially after gold was found on Dukes Creek in In the Cherokee were driven from their lands, though the Unicoi Turnpike in Georgia was not used. After the Turnpike was reauthorized in by the Georgia Legislature, it was shortened in and remained in operation until when the Forest Service acquired the land, no longer requiring tolls to pass. 23 Under the jurisdiction of the US Forest Service, the Unicoi Turnpike was maintained with bull dozers from 24 After the CCC was established in the main mission of the CCC camp in Robertstown was road maintenance and forestry.

Since the Unicoi Turnpike had been in disrepair for almost 100 years by this point, the realignment of the road was most likely carried out by the CCC boys under the Forest Service. The road was known to be very steep and narrow in this area. Plat maps from this time illustrate different proposed routes for the road; however, by the road bed for the old Unicoi Turnpike appears as well as the route of Highway 75 (SR 75)/Unicoi Turnpike. The modern Unicoi Turnpike appears to follow most of the route of the original Unicoi Turnpike, but does deviate in some areas, such as Andrews Cove.

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER GA-164. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Barter, Christian S, Margaret Coffin Brown, et al. Acadia Trails Treatment Plan: Cultural Landscape Report for the Historic Hiking Trail System f Acadia National Park, Maine. Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation and National Park Service, 19 Ibid., 20 Ibid., 8. 21 Ibid., 20. 22 Ibid., 19. 23 Ibid., 35. 24 Ibid. ANDREWS COVE CULVERT HAER No. GA-164 (Page 6) CCC Camps in Georgia, CCC Legacy. Accessed September 25, Davis, Ren. Civilian Conservation Corps, New Georgia Encyclopedia, last modified May 6, conservation-corps. Lotti, Teresa. From Out of the Soil: The History of Camp Lucretia. Master s thesis, University of West Georgia, Memories of District B: Civilian Conservation Corps, gift to the White County Historical Society. Accessed September 26, Otis, Alison T, William D.

Honey, et al. The Forest Service and Civilian Conservation Corps: United States Department of Agriculture, Wettstaed, James R. Determination of Eligibility and Effect for Civilian Conservation Corps Culvert Replacements on the Tumbling Creek Road, FSR 22, Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests, Fannin County, Georgia. USDA Forest Service, DRAFT: A Legacy in Wood and Stone: An Overview and Management Plan of Depression Era Resources on the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests, Georgia. USDA Forest Service, DRAFT: An Inventory and Assessment of the Unicoi Turnpike on the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests, Habersham, Stephens, Union, and White Counties, Georgia. USDA Forest Service, Wood, Inger.

History That Will Not Vanish: Preserving the Legacy of the Soil Conservation Service Branch of the Civilian Conservation Corps in Georgia. Master s thesis, University of Georgia,

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER GA-164. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The documentation for this report was prepared by Cayley Champeau with the assistance of Terri Lotti and Sandy Lawrence at the Georgia Department of Transportation. Donnie Richardson and James Southerland completed the large-format photography. The project was sponsored by the Georgia Department of Transportation, in cooperation with the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Georgia State Historic Preservation Office. ANDREWS COVE CULVERT HAER No. GA-164 (Page 7) Appendix: Images of Current Conditions Image 1: View of the Andrews Cove Culvert, looking southeast along hairpin turn of Unicoi Turnpike. Field photograph taken by HAER historian, September 19, ANDREWS COVE CULVERT HAER No. GA-164 (Page 8) Image 2: View of the Andrews Cove Culvert, looking southwest from Andrews Creek.

Field photograph taken by HAER historian, September 19,