An iron cylinder protruding from the Chestatee River was long thought to be the smokestack of a sunken mining boat, but in the summer of 1981 local gold prospectors, with help from the foreman of the privately owned farm where it lay, removed it from the river and found it attached to a large metal object with hooks on its four corners. Winched up the bank by bulldozer, it proved to be an airlock cylinder connected to a very old diving bell that had once been tethered to the deck of a 50' x 17' boat; the bell weighs 6 to 7 tons and measures 14' long x 6' wide x 8' tall, and the air lock is 8' tall. For the next two decades, efforts to interest people in preserving it failed, and the artifact languished on the riverbank as passersby photographed it and took souvenirs from the rusting metal. After the property was purchased in 1997 by Birch River, LLC, the owners considered selling it as scrap iron, but in 2003 they chose to restore it instead, hiring a local welder to repair and paint it, though plans to make it an attraction were later abandoned and it was left beside a maintenance road. After Achasta, a Reynolds Signature Community, acquired the property, a visiting diver saw the bell in 2007, photographed it, and alerted members of the nautical and navel archaeological communities, drawing the interest of experts in 19th century submersibles. One expert believed it closely resembled a version patented in 1858 by Benjamin Maillefert of Astoria, New York, and because none of Maillefert's diving bells are known to survive, the Chestatee River submersible is regarded as one of a kind. Renewed local efforts led to the creation of the Chestatee River Diving Bell Committee in early 2009 to pursue restoration, preservation, and public display. In May 2010, Achasta donated the diving bell to the City of Dahlonega for display in Hancock Park, and in June 2010 a fund-raising committee formed to help finance a display plaza. About $40,000 was raised in donations, Cottrell, Inc., contributed manufacturing resources to restore and preserve the artifact, the Cottrell Foundation gave $50,000 to help complete the pavilion and plaza, and architect Richard Owens designed the protective pavilion and viewing area.