Mrs. Brenda Helton of Richmond Hill had been thinking her work of eleven years was about to come to fruition with the National Register of Historic Places nomination of historic properties along the Ogeechee River. After the historic documentation was completed to nomination was submitted and the reveiwing officials asked her about the archaeological survey. "What archaeological survey." she asked? Her next question was, "Who do I call to get that done?" After sending a letter to Georgia Southern University's Department of Sociology and Anthropology negotiations were held to get Georgia Southern University's Spring and Summer 2005 Archaeological Field Sessions held on the property being nominated. A decision was reached with the Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Richmond Hill Historical Society to focus the initial work on properties that had an integrated historical and theme begin a long term project to protect wetland resources in Bryan County, Georgia. The initial work was to focus on the plantation property that had been operated by Captain James MacKay and later the McAllister family. The plantation was named after Captain MacKay's ancestral home in Strathnaver, Scottland. The main house has since been known as Strathy Hall. After Captain MacKay's death in 1785 this property and the Whitehall Plantation were divided between his three daughters and grandchildren. George Washington McAllister later bought the plantation and operated it until his death in 1850. His son, Joseph McAllister then operated it from 1850 until his death in 1864 at the Battle of Trevillion Station during the Civil War. Fort McAllister is named after the McAllister family. The main house still known as Strathy Hall and Fort McAllister are on the National Register of Historic Places. The McAllister Plantation Slave Cemetery and McAllister Rice Mill are not inculded on the National Register of Historic Places at the present time. The cemetery, the rice mill, and associated rice fields will be submitted for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. Signatures from property owners in the neighborhood are being acquired, mapping, and testing of the properties is underway.

Mr. Jack Alderman, great-great-great grandson of Nancy and Ansel Parrish had been attempting to locate the graves of his ancestors and was not able to find the graves of these individuals. After being told of the original cemetery location near an old homesite, Mr. Alderman was able to locate the headstone of Mrs. Nancy Parrish. Mr. Alderman called Georgia Southern University's Department of Sociology and Anthropology for help in determining if the other graves could be located. A visit to the site by Dr. Hale revealed recent disturbance to the site. The ground around the headstone had been scraped with the topsoil pushed into berms north and west of Nancy Parrish's headstone. The visit also revealed large pits excavated with a backhoe. The pits were recent and had no leaf litter in the exposed depressions. No grass, weeds, or plants had begun to grow on the disturbed buff, sandy loam. We were informed that someone had tested the soil on the ridge to assess the viability of operating a sand quarry. The scraping of the topsoil around Mrs. Nancy Parrish's headstone and very recent testing of the soil for quarrying prompted Mr. Alderman to notify the property owner Mr. James Anderson of need to protect the cemetery. Mr Anderson agreed that the cemetery should be protected and granted permission to look for other graves in the area. The scraping of the topsoil obliterated any evidence of collapsed coffins. Schnitting (shaving) of the disturbed surface around the headstone of Mrs. Nancy Parrish revealed no observable stains in the soil that would give clues as to the location of the old shafts dug for the burials. A footstone that had been dislodged by the scraping of the surface had been placed on top of the grave of Mrs. Parrish adjacent to the headstone. Mr. Jack Alderman replaced the footstone in its proper location. A metal detector survey of the area revealed a rectangular pattern of cut-square nails that propably came from a wooden fence that bounded the cemetery in the past. Mr. Alderman erected corner posts just beyond the rectangular area and strung wire cable between them. Suspended from the cable were references to Georgia Code protecting cemeteries. A note was included instructing people to direct questions regarding the Parrish Cemetery to Georgia Southern University's Department of Sociology and Anthropology.