ABSTRACT
The projects in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions comprise some of the first professional surveys of several river valleys; these surveys included the discovery of important sites that continue to be investigated and continue to have a strong impact on the archaeology of the East. The River Basin Surveys (RBS) in the East trained archaeologists who went on to have successful careers, and it spawned the development of long-term relationships between personnel of this federal program and regional and state museums, historical societies, and universities. For the first several years after the establishment of the RBS, the Washington office administered all RBS projects in the Eastern United States and served as the central office for the RBS program in general. One of the last archaeological projects in the East directed from the RBS Washington office was the planned damming of the New River in Grayson County, Virginia, and Alleghany and Ashe counties, North Carolina.
