Archaeological Survey and Site Testing of the 19th Street Water Reclamation Facility

An intensive archeological survey was conducted on a two-block area of downtown Columbus that will be the site of an underground storm sewer reclamation facility and landscaped park. The project area, bounded by 2nd and 4th Avenues and 18th and 19th Streets, was originally laid out as the northern extension of Columbus known as Northern Liberties. The project area then had a stream flowing through it, and housing was constructed on the higher land, mainly facing 18th Street. The area remained mainly residential, housing whites and blacks for most of its history. The stream valley was in-filled in several episodes during the twentieth century and housing continued to increase in density, with many of the early houses replaced by newer housing. There was a nearly continuous turn-over of occupants in most of the houses. Housing on the blocks consisted of both small, tightly packed shotguns and modest sized bungalows. Most of the housing was razed by the 1980s, when most of the northern half of the blocks were in-filled again. This survey identified two areas of housing that are sufficiently intact to consider as archeological sites. One area, site 9ME110, is a low area that contained a row of as many as ten shotgun houses in the early to mid-twentieth century. The houses were bulldozed in the earl) 1990s. Because of the lack of features, midden deposit, archeological research potential, and integrity, we recommend that 9ME110 is not eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The other area of housing, site 9ME111, is a red clay hill that contained two rows of four to five houses that faced 18th Street and 3rd Avenue from the late nineteenth to mid-twentieth century. This site is relatively well preserved. Fourteen shovel tests and two large backhoe trenches placed at the back of the house lots revealed shallow topsoil over subsoil that contained a few isolated features, mainly posts. No substantial features, such as privies or cisterns, were detected. Artifact distributions and housing foundations have been disturbed by various rebuildings and razings. Archival records, including census schedules, city directories and detailed city maps, provide a great deal of information about the project area. It is unlikely that archeological excavations would yield important new information. We therefore recommend that 9ME111 is not eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. It is the conclusion of the principal investigator that no Historic Properties, that is, sites eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, are present in the project area, and therefore, that no further archeological work need be done.