The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation released its 2024 list of ten Places in Peril in the state on November 15th. Pine Log Mountain in Bartow County was placed on the list, thanks to the submission by Reinhardt University Professor, Dr. Donna Coffey Little. This placement is welcome news to the Reinhardt community who have a strong attachment to the mountain. Historical documents show Reinhardt students regularly visiting Pine Log Mountain for school outings and social gatherings, as far back as 1911.
Places in Peril raises awareness about Georgia’s significant historic, archaeological, and cultural resources that are threatened by demolition, neglect, inappropriate development, or insensitive public policy. The goal is to bring preservation solutions to the imperiled historic resources.
Pine Log Mountain is a privately owned 14,134-acre tract of wilderness that has been put on the public market for sale, and threatened by destruction, after years of being leased by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources as a wildlife management area.
Dr. Little has been working with the Pinelog Preservation Society to bring public attention to the need to save the wilderness area, as well as its historical sites and environmental resources. She says, “The historical sites on Pine Log Mountain are irreplaceable and with the west side of the mountain up for sale, they could easily be lost forever. The sites include stone-iron furnaces from the late 1830s and early 1840s, a Native American rock wall that may date back to the Woodland era, and the site of the Sugar Hill Convict Labor Camp, which operated from 1876-1909. Pine Log Mountain is an iconic site in both Cherokee and Bartow Counties. It is integral to our history and heritage. My hope is that making the Places in Peril list will bring Pine Log Mountain to the attention of both the public and potential donors to help save the site.”
