Historic contexts serve as a backdrop for understanding specific structures, sites, objects, or events. Generally broad in scope, these documents use theme, place, and time as organizing principles. In cultural resource management studies, the development of a historic context often precedes a historic architectural or archaeological study, as they offer a way to tie a property to significant trends in local, regional, or national history. On a practical level, a historic context allows the research design for the history or archaeological project to be more tightly focused, thereby providing better data at a lower cost.

For archaeological projects, a prior understanding of the land use history and the local, regional, and national events occurring during a site’s occupation period allows for the development of meaningful research questions. This helps to ensure that the portions of the site investigated are the ones most likely to lead to the best understanding of the site’s history. Completing a historical context prior to beginning a historical architectural study helps place buildings, neighborhoods, and structures within the appropriate historical framework. This basis helps to facilitate a meaningful recommendation regarding eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places. When an architectural survey has been completed, the type and level of significance (local, state, or national) for the property can be easily assessed based on the historic context.

New South Associates has extensive experience preparing historic contexts for local, county, and state governments, as well as private citizens, neighborhood associations, and historic foundations. In addition, New South Associates has prepared statewide contexts for the State of Georgia on Historic Agriculture and Historic Archaeology.

New South Associates' context on historic agriculture in Georgia presents the history of agriculture in the state, as well as the types of landscapes and structures found on agrarian sites, and provides guidance on recording and evaluating agricultural properties for the National Register of Historic Places. More information on this project can be found in the Notable section of this website.