Russell Cave National Monument: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Russell Cave National Monument

Robey, Chris; IR 2 Cultural Landscapes Program

This Cultural Landscapes Inventory report documents the Russell Cave National Monument landscape in the northeast corner of Alabama. The primary rock shelter, which measures approximately 92 feet by 197 feet, contains evidence of long-term seasonal and multi-year continuous use spanning every known cultural period of Southeastern prehistory from 10,000 BCE to 1650 CE, making it one of the oldest known rock shelters in the Eastern United States. The site is also one of the first in the history of American archeology to be investigated using radiocarbon dating, a method which enabled the assemblage of what remains one of the most complete temporal and chronological records of human habitation in the Southeast. The peripheral sites outside of the primary rock shelter exhibit a similar range and span of use. These sites include a prehistoric burial mound, open air sites, other rock shelter sites, quarry sites, temporary encampments and historic Euro-American settlement and coal mining sites. Taken together, this district bears the traces of every period of human occupation in northeast Alabama, from the Paleoindians to 20th century farmers and coal miners, over a span of approximately 11,650 years. There is a strong argument to be made for expanding the park’s period of significance to encompass its Mission 66-period construction. The park’s surviving Mission 66-period features retain integrity and achieve significance under Criterion A in the areas of Community Planning and Development (park), Conservation, and Entertainment/Recreation as well as Criterion C in the areas of Landscape Architecture and Community Planning and Development (park). Altogether, these features comprise a parkwide Mission 66 historic district. Finally, there is strong evidence to suggest the presence of a discontiguous historic district within Doran’s Cove encompassing its former coal mining landscape.

Russell Cave National Monument: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Russell Cave National Monument

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