Washington County Historical Commission outlines 'First Citizens' project to document precontact history

The Washington County Historical Commission presented a multi‑year project July 1 to document the county’s prehistoric archaeological record, analyze existing artifact collections and develop a public educational program.

Tom Stevens introduced the presentation and turned the floor over to David Lancaster, who said the commission’s work will inventory already‑recorded sites, analyze artifact collections, pursue radiocarbon dating on selected materials and professionally excavate at least one candidate site. "We’re gonna document and analyze the available artifact collections that are existing knowledge base and create an educational program to inform our current citizens — the first citizens," Lancaster said.

Lancaster and Kathy Parker described findings from private and local collections, including projectile points and ceramics, and said most documented Washington County sites date to the middle Archaic period (roughly 4,000 years ago) with potential for older material. Lancaster said about 78 sites in the county are listed in the state atlas, but only 19 are definite prehistoric sites with another 19 possible; nearby Limestone County, by contrast, has around 80 prehistoric sites listed.

The project will seek radiocarbon dating of nonlithic materials (for example, bison tooth samples mentioned during the presentation), investigate several potential sites north of Chapel Hill and perform a professionally supervised dig on Kathy Parker’s property if permissions and conditions allow. Commission members said their work aligns with the Historical Commission’s bylaws to preserve the county’s full history.

The court thanked presenters; no formal action or county funding was recorded in the meeting minutes for the presentation itself.