At least 18 people have gone missing on a bucolic farm 30 minutes west of Athens, and Dr. Kathryn Deeley, assistant professor of anthropology at Georgia Gwinnett College, and her students aim to find them.
The farm in question is the William Harris Homestead, a 19th-century farm owned by the same family since 1836 that’s now a museum and education center. The missing people are the enslaved people owned by the Harris family, who lived and worked the farm for decades before the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.
Deeley says: “We know through census data that between 1840 and 1860, the Harris family owned between 10 and 18 individuals, and they lived on the site in as few as one, and possibly as many as three, cabins.”
The quarters where enslaved people lived were typically small and not built to last, said Deeley, so the record of these people’s existence was buried over time and all but erased. Deeley and her students set out to find them in 2017, with the full support of the William Harris Homestead Museum and the Harris family.
“Unfortunately, the enslaved people’s quarters are one of the things not intact on the site, which is typical for 19th-century farms,” she says. “Most of them were torn down in the early 20th century.”
Deeley’s team started with a metal detector survey of the property, which was unsuccessful, so the next step was to simply begin digging — one hole every 10 feet, using a map hand-drawn by one of the Harris family descendants. It’s slow, methodical work. So far, 28 students and two faculty members from GGC, 14 undergraduate and two graduate students from the University of Georgia, and three volunteers from the Gwinnett Archeological Research Society have expended their time and sweat to the project over 10 total days of excavations since 2018.
Deeley says they are literally hoping to find trash — glass, dishes, animal bones, etc. — because trash piles can signal more significant archeological features like the footings of buildings.
“It’s a wonderful thing about archaeology,” Deeley says. “Not everybody makes it into the history books. I’m not cool enough to make it into a history book. But everybody makes trash, allowing us to recover these lost histories.”
The team finished testing the first area in which Deeley was interested in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the project to be postponed for two years. GGC student Julia Barnett, a sophomore studying political science, joined the project at the beginning of the 2022 school year.
“Excavations are a very intricate and invigorating process, with many precise methods and tools,” says Barnett. “Dr. Deeley has been an incredible professor and mentor out in the field. Participating in the excavation on site has made me feel like I’m not only preserving history but taking part in it. I’ve enjoyed my time on the homestead excavation so much that I’m changing my career path and major to archaeology.”
One of Deeley’s big dreams for the project is to unearth enough of the enslaved people’s stories to track down descendants.
Deeley adds: It’s emotional, because these people have been forgotten, and we want them to be remembered.”
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Snellville announces bands and dates of 2022 concert series
The Snellville Towne Green will once again be rocking as Experience Snellville presents four free high-energy concerts this year. The concerts take place from 6-9 p.m. on the Towne Green in front of City Hall, 2342 Oak Road. Attendees are urged to bring their own lawn chairs or blankets. Beer, wine and food will be available for purchase.
Reserved tables for eight people are available for $160. Tables are limited to a first-come, first-served basis. You can reserve tables online at experiencesnellville.com.
The line-up shows:
- May 28: Queen Nation.
- July 23: Chi-Town Transit Authority.
- August 20: Departure.
- Sept. 24: Uptown Funk
Deadline to register to vote in 2022 primary is April 25
Deadline to register to vote in the primary is April 25. The primary is May 24 with the runoff June 21. To register in Georgia, you must be at least 18 on Election Day, a U.S. citizen, and a legal resident of the county you’re voting in. To check your registration status, download a registration application, view sample ballots, and locate your polling place, visit MVP.SOS.GA.gov
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