Our feature collections item is an ATLATL. And though AMNP is very near the great ATL, this object was found in the Tennessee River Valley. Its actually a counter-weight for an Atlatl device used by Native Americans.  It allowed a spear to be thrown harder and farther than with an arm alone. Our Heritage Intern Julia Barnes  just completed her summer internship working with our Southeast Indian Projectile Points donated by the Forsten family.  Several of the items are on display in our visitor center, as well as more in collections storage. Julia picked this object as her favorite because “it’s different from anything else in our collection!”.  Julia worked on researching, categorizing, re-housing and inventorying these pieces. Sincere thanks to Julia for all her hard work. She is now back at school studying archaeology. If you are a student interested in mid-break, summer, or school-year internship, please contact collections@autreymill.org or visit the Volunteer Page for the application.

Autrey Mill Heritage Collections

Autrey Mill is fortunate to own several collections of historic items.

• Farm Museum Collection – farming implements used by local farmers
• Tenant House Collection – household items
• Green Store Collection – a mixture of items sold in the store and personal Green family items
• Forsten Collection – Southeastern Indian projectile points

 

Where have these items come from?
Over the years area residents have generously given the Autrey Mill Nature Preserve Association many items that were used in this area during the late 1800s to the mid 1900s. These items now furnish the Tenant Farmhouse, are housed in the Farm Museum and in its outdoor display area, and decorate the Summerour House.

The Green Country Store was full to the brim with items sold in the store, all of its ledgers and miscellaneous stuff stored there during its years of operation. Some of these items are displayed in the Green Store, but much is still in storage awaiting attention.

The Forsten Exhibit of Southeastern Indian Artifacts opened in 2011 during our Native American Day event. The exhibit contains a selection of artifacts donated by the Forsten family. The collection contains 288 pieces of Southeastern American Indian projectile points, gorgets, atlatl weights and other artifacts. Part of the large collection is on permanent display, with other pieces being used for educational programming and future research.

 

What needs to be done?
The collections need to be examined, catalogued, and displayed appropriately. The more important items may need to be stabilized then specially stored or enclosed to prevent further deterioration. It’s a long process, but necessary to ensure the history of the Johns Creek area can be exhibited for today’s visitors and is preserved for future generations.