After seeing state funding for historic sites slashed and slashed again, the staff at New Echota Historic Site in Gordon County, Ga., has come up with a “wish list” of projects for volunteers.
“We’re having to try to fill in and supplement where we can,” said site Superintendent David Gomez. “A lot them are the things that would only take 15 or 20 minutes, but you never can find that 15 or 20 minutes.”
The wish list includes knocking down beaver dams, cutting back briars, cleaning buildings and waxing furniture at the state-owned site that marks the location of the old Cherokee Nation capital.
“We’re trying to keep things top-notch but keep the cost to the state minimal,” Gomez said. “You’ve got to maintain the historic buildings or the park’s not going to be here.”
Volunteers already have tackled a few of the beaver dams, and a group of master gardeners has signed on to maintain the onsite garden.