Before the subdivisions, the SUVs, the superstores and the highways, St. Tammany was home to a thriving Indian community.

History of this area north of Lake Pontchartrain details several tribes who inhabited this area. Little of what those ancestors left behind is available for historians to study today and much of what was left has been paved over making way for “progress” in the form of suburban subdivisions and four-lane highways. It is said that several locations where the pottery, tools and in some cases even bones of these Native Americans exist in the area have now been covered over by what is now million dollar homes.

Tipped off by some neighbors in the area, the city of Mandeville was able to preserve one of those locations. Dubbed Pottery Hill by old timers in the area, the one acre site is located east of Bayou Castine where Monroe Street dead ends into Colbert Street. Planning Director Louisette Kidd said the Surveys Unlimited Research Associates Inc., an archeological consulting firm for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, conducted a phase I cultural resources survey of the property in February 2006.

In June of 2007, after prehistoric materials were found there, the city purchased the property to protect it from development.

Kidd said ceramics were found evenly distributed throughout the site, with a large concentration located near a very old oak tree located in the southwestern corner of the property.

She told the City Council last week that the initial findings were significant enough to warrant further studies and the area could possibly be eligible for placement on the National Registry of Historic Place, guarantying it protection in the future.

The council agreed to contract with Malcolm Shuman, registered professional archaeologist and president of SURA, to proceed with phase two of the project.

The council granted the city permission to pay up to $23,000 for Shuman to prepare a site description, methodology and reports. If what is found during this phase warrants more excavation, the council has agreed to up the maximum pay for the study to $40,000.

Kidd said she hopes the area will qualify for the National Registry of Historic Places especially considering how many possible other sites have been lost to development.

She said she hopes to be able to use this site as an educational tool and a way to share the history of this area with current and future generations.

“If they start to find things, we want to document it,” Kidd said.

She hopes to be able to put things on display either at kiosks at the site or at the trailhead.

“If it is eligible for the Historic Registry we will put a plaque up and informational kiosks about the Indian culture of the area,” Kidd said.