Heritage Resources

Heritage Resources on the Francis Marion National Forest

Human occupation of the Francis Marion National Forest dates back at least 15,000 years as people came to the area during the last ice age. Archeological evidence indicates centuries of human occupation, use and adaptation in the area. Over 1,100 archeological sites have been located and recorded on the forest.

Unlike the Francis Marion's renewable natural resources, such as trees, plants, and animals, its heritage resources are non-renewable. Each succeeding culture leaves a finite amount of material clues that enable future generations to interpret past activities. The loss of these cultural clues through time occurs as a result of two main processes: natural and human. Natural processes include erosion, oxidation, bacterial degradation and weathering. Human processes include intentional destruction, like vandalism and looting; and unintentional, like secondary effects from development activities.

Heritage management entails the location and identification of these sites, their protection, and their interpretation. There is little we can do to halt the natural ravages of time, with the exception of watershed erosion control. However, human destruction - intentional and unintentional - can be controlled.

Heritage management is a relatively new arm of the USDA Forest Service land management team. It is an outgrowth of federal environmental legislation passed in the 1970s and 1980s. Heritage Management is incorporated in every management decision involving any land-disturbing activity within the National Forest System.

Except for sites that occur in major recreation areas, the Forest Service does not publish the exact locations of its heritage resource sites. This measure is meant to prevent the intentional vandalism and looting of these resources.

It is illegal to “dig, remove, injure or destroy any historic or prehistoric objects, ruins or sites” on federal land. “Violators subject to arrest, a maximum fine of $20,000.00, and or imprisonment.”

For additional information on laws affected the management of heritage resources, please see the Antiquities Act of 1906 and Archeological Resources Protection Act of 1979.

Heritage Resources on the Sumter National Forest

Awaiting discovery in the woodlands of the Sumter National Forest are the remnants of past cultures that confront us and remind us of the centuries-old relationship between people and the land. These heritage resources hold clues to past ecosystems, add richness and depth to our landscapes, help us to understand past life-ways, provide links to living traditions, and help transform a walk in the woods into an unforgettable encounter with history.

More than 3,800 heritage resource sites are recorded on the Sumter National Forest. Prehistoric period sites include campsites, villages, hunting areas, stone tool quarrying areas, and petroglyphs. Historic period sites include farm houses, outbuildings, mines, improved springs, dams, mills, quarries, cemeteries, churches, Revolutionary War battlefields, pottery and lime kilns, bridges, Civilian Conservation Corp camps, World War II Prisoner of War camps, and fire lookout towers. A network of old Indian trails, railroad beds, and abandoned roadbeds can be found on the forest.

Heritage resources are nonrenewable and the purpose of the heritage management is to protect significant heritage resources. The Forest Service seeks to improve public understanding of our heritage, to raise public awareness of the fragile and irreplaceable nature of heritage resources, to share its values with the forest visitor, to contribute relevant information and perspectives to forest management, and to provide enhanced public recreational opportunities.

Heritage resources are an essential component of ecosystem analysis and forest health assessments providing the link that connects people, past, and present to the land. They also provide a context for understanding contemporary landscapes and natural resource issues.