{"id":74745,"date":"2025-12-09T08:30:58","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T13:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/?p=74745"},"modified":"2025-12-16T09:54:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T14:54:15","slug":"preserving-place-ugas-findit-program-brings-new-life-to-monticellos-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/preserving-place-ugas-findit-program-brings-new-life-to-monticellos-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Preserving place: UGA\u2019s FindIt program brings new life to Monticello\u2019s history"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”” el_class=”text-container first-paragraph”]<\/p>\n

The sun isn\u2019t even out when Jennifer Lewis and a group of University of Georgia graduate students leave Athens to travel to Monticello, Georgia, in July 2025.<\/p>\n

The first true heatwave of the summer has hit, and they know if they don\u2019t finish surveying structures around the small town\u2019s historic district, they\u2019ll be miserable by lunchtime.<\/p>\n

Monticello\u2019s city leaders had contacted the Northeast Georgia Regional Commission (NEGRC) for an updated historic resources survey, and the agency turned to Lewis for help.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey asked if I had a couple of graduate students to help do a historic resources survey,\u201d said Lewis, director of the Center for Community Design and Preservation<\/a> (CCDP), the public service unit of UGA\u2019s College of Environment and Design. \u201cI said, \u2018How about eight?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Lewis is also the director of FindIt<\/a>, a statewide program created to help document historic resources throughout Georgia and facilitate their preservation. Launched in 2002, FindIt gives students the opportunity to escape the classroom and explore historic resources across the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking with the FindIt team made this large-scale survey both manageable and efficient, and I was so grateful for their willingness to hit the ground running,\u201d said Jody Graichen, NEGRC\u2019s historic preservation planner. \u201cNot only did students get hands-on experience in one of the region\u2019s larger historic districts, but their work will help maintain Monticello\u2019s certified local government status and assist with the Historic Preservation Commission\u2019s design review.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis partnership was a huge help to me, and a win for Monticello.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the next two weeks, students pair off and walk around a specific section of Monticello, taking photographs and making notes of certain architectural styles, types of houses, or possible alterations they could find. This is the first time in several years that FindIt is focusing on a small town, rather than large-scale countywide surveys of areas like Athens-Clarke County and Macon.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one thing to study historic buildings in photos, but completely different to stand on the sidewalk in front of one\u2014to see its details, its setting, and the neighborhood around it,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cYou understand history so much better when you can walk through it.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”” el_class=”text-container”]<\/p>\n

Serving the state and students for over 20 years<\/strong><\/h2>\n

FindIt operates as a collaborative organization, working with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government\u2019s<\/a> Information Technology Outreach Services (ITOS) and several government entities across Georgia.<\/p>\n

ITOS provides geographic information system (GIS) expertise and helps manage the statewide database of recorded resources. The staff trains students in GIS mapping, field data entry, and digital survey workflows, ensuring their data integrates seamlessly into state systems.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”74756″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” css=”” el_class=”container”][vc_column_text css=”” el_class=”text-container”]<\/p>\n

The Georgia State Historic Preservation Division collects the data and uses it to evaluate and review federally funded projects for compliance under the National Historic Preservation Act. Their partnership ensures that FindIt\u2019s work meets professional preservation standards and can be used in official environmental and historic reviews.<\/p>\n

FindIt is funded by the Georgia Transmission Corporation (GTC), a nonprofit utility company that acts as the intermediary between the state\u2019s power generators and local electric membership corporations. Because GTC\u2019s infrastructure projects receive federal funding, they must undergo environmental and historic review. The partnership between GTC and FindIt funds graduate assistantships for students and project support, while FindIt\u2019s data helps expedite federal reviews.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a win-win-win for all the partners involved,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cThe state gets more data, the [GTC] gets expedited project review, and our students get professional development training to become cultural resource managers.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”” el_class=”text-container”]<\/p>\n

From classroom to community<\/strong><\/h2>\n

FindIt\u2019s projects are often focused on rural towns. Monticello, seat of Jasper County in central Georgia, has a population under 3,000.<\/p>\n

Each year, the summer internship starts with two weeks of intense training led by Lewis, with students taking a deep dive into foundational texts like \u201cThe Ranch House Guide in Georgia\u201d and \u201cTilling the Earth\u201d and honing their architectural identification skills with quizzes over historic types and styles.<\/p>\n

Building types often follow patterns tied to specific time periods and regional traditions. By identifying a building\u2019s type, students can estimate its age and purpose even without documentation. For example, a one-story, two-room \u201csaddlebag\u201d house (two rooms flanking a central chimney) often points to 19th century vernacular housing\u2014a home designed around local needs and using locally sourced materials\u2014while a long, single-story ranch home signals post-World War II suburban development.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1765210976171{background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][vc_row_inner el_class=”fw-image” css=”.vc_custom_1765211206920{background-image: url(https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/12\/FindIt-4.jpg?id=74763) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][vc_column_inner][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text css=”” el_class=”container image-caption”]<\/p>\n

Downtown Monticello, Georgia. (Photo by Jennifer Lewis)<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”” el_class=”text-container”]<\/p>\n

\u201cStyle,\u201d by contrast, refers to a building\u2019s decorative and aesthetic elements\u2014 details that express architectural trends of the era\u2014such as windows and their arrangement, porch supports, columns, cornices, or moldings, doorways and facades, and materials and ornamentation.<\/p>\n

Style helps students connect a building to broader design movements\u2014for example, Gothic Revival, Queen Anne, Craftsman, Colonial Revival, or Mid-Century Modern. It also shows how national trends adapted locally; rural builders might simplify high-style patterns, resulting in vernacular versions unique to their region.<\/p>\n

During FindIt\u2019s training period, each student was sent on a \u201cscavenger hunt\u201d to create a presentation with real-world examples of the types and styles they had been learning. Some chose to highlight historic resources in their hometowns.<\/p>\n

Hayden Dutton lived in Monticello for several years growing up. Her mother still teaches in the small town, and her grandfather lives there as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really cool to go back to an area that I knew so well\u2014or thought I knew really well\u2014and be able to learn more about its history and its built environment,\u201d Dutton said.<\/p>\n

After the training period ended, students took part in a shadow week, conducting surveys with professional historians, visiting state agencies like the Georgia Department of Transportation, and learning how historic resource surveying plays into their projects.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”74817″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” css=”” el_class=”container”][vc_column_text css=”” el_class=”text-container”]<\/p>\n

When they arrived in Monticello, the team split the project into two phases: first they would resurvey existing \u201chistoric\u201d resources, then survey resources not previously categorized as historic. NEGRC provided students with sophisticated GIS data that broke the city into sections, and FindIt divided and conquered.<\/p>\n

The students found examples of historic house types such as Saddlebags, Central Hallway Cottages, and Queen Anne Cottages. They also toured Thomas Persons Hall, a former high school that has undergone a renovation sponsored by the local government and preservation groups.<\/p>\n

Persons Hall now operates as an event space and museum. It sits near Monticello\u2019s downtown square and has key characteristics of early 20th <\/sup>century institutional architecture: formal central entrance, classical proportions, and an inside auditorium. The first two floors have been renovated and are used as offices and classrooms, but the third floor still needs repair.<\/p>\n

\"A
While conducting historic resource surveys, students take note of the type and style of the historic buildings. They then catalog the information they find and upload it to a statewide database of recorded resources. (Photo by Jennifer Lewis)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt was interesting to compare the restoration work that had been done on the first two floors with the existing condition of the third,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cIt was a great preservation showcase to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Persons Hall is an example of historic preservation at its best. Part of the building was even used as the sheriff\u2019s office in the 1992 film \u201cMy Cousin Vinny.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sadly, not all historic buildings have this kind of success story. Lewis recalled the students finding an old, rundown Methodist church just off the square. Architecturally, it\u2019s a corner-tower church with a large front gable, a massive stained-glass window, and subtle Gothic details. Although its overall structure is simple, the stained-glass and tower give it a striking character.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s such a handsome building,\u201d Lewis said, \u201cbut it\u2019s falling into disrepair because it was abandoned. The prominent stained-glass window is broken, and there are holes in the roof. The longer it sits like that, the faster it\u2019s going to deteriorate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_section css=”.vc_custom_1567710408463{background-color: #e4ddc7 !important;}” el_class=”fw-polygon”][vc_row equal_height=”yes” bg_type=”bg_color”][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1567710326062{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}” el_class=”polygon-wrapper”][vc_raw_html css=”.vc_custom_1765211969649{background-image: url(https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/12\/FindIt-Feature5-scaled-e1765211841769.jpg?id=74775) !important;}” el_class=”polygon”]JTNDJTIxLS1sZWF2ZSUyMHRoaXMlMjBlbXB0eS0tJTNF[\/vc_raw_html][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″ el_class=”polygon-content”][vc_column_text css=”” el_class=”testimonial”]\u201cMost folks have an interest in history in some capacity. It might be cars, family genealogy, or military history \u2014 but we all have an attachment to the past and an interest in what came before us and how it tells us about the lives we have today.”<\/strong><\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”” el_class=”credit”]<\/p>\n

\u2013 Jennifer Lewis, director of the Center for Community Design and Preservation<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”” el_class=”text-container”]<\/p>\n

Preserving the past for the future<\/strong><\/h2>\n

With support from the town\u2019s residents and leaders, as well as NEGRC, FindIt students completed Monticello\u2019s field survey in just four days, documenting some 460 properties.<\/p>\n

\u201cMonticello is a community that has valued preservation for several decades,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cThey\u2019ve had a National Register district and a local historic district for a long time, and an active preservation commission. They see the value of preservation in how their courthouse square has been revitalized.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”” el_class=”text-container”]<\/p>\n

Historic preservation is integral to small communities, Lewis said. Local history is key to a town\u2019s identity and a community\u2019s knowledge of where it came from, how it developed, and what pieces of that story still exist in the built environment. Every building, street, and landscape holds traces of local history, culture, and craftsmanship.<\/p>\n

In addition to the local cultural benefits, preservation plays a major economic role for towns like Monticello. Revitalizing historic buildings can stimulate local economies, attract tourism, and draw new residents. It\u2019s also a more environmentally friendly and sustainable route than tearing down and building anew.<\/p>\n

Through projects like FindIt, residents often share their own memories or family stories when students come to document their homes. These interactions spark local pride and help people see their neighborhoods in a new light\u2014not just as old buildings, but as living artifacts of community history.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”” el_class=”text-container first-paragraph”] The sun isn\u2019t even out when Jennifer Lewis and a group of University of Georgia graduate students leave Athens to travel to Monticello, Georgia, in July 2025. The first true heatwave of the summer has hit, and they know if they don\u2019t finish surveying structures around the small town\u2019s historic district, … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Preserving place: UGA\u2019s FindIt program brings new life to Monticello\u2019s history”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":74867,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"feature-single.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[229],"tags":[],"post_medium":[691,314],"publications":[],"authors":[968,801],"photographers":[],"video_credit":[],"takeaways":[],"class_list":["post-74745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-humanities-arts","post_medium-feature","post_medium-read","authors-mckenna-white","authors-olivia-randall","entry"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74745"},{"taxonomy":"post_medium","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_medium?post=74745"},{"taxonomy":"publications","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publications?post=74745"},{"taxonomy":"authors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/authors?post=74745"},{"taxonomy":"photographers","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/photographers?post=74745"},{"taxonomy":"video_credit","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/video_credit?post=74745"},{"taxonomy":"takeaways","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/takeaways?post=74745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}