A Cultural Resources Survey of Proposed U.S. Highway 19 Widening, Taylor and Upson County, Georgia

The Georgia Department of Transportation contracted with Southeastern Archeological Services, Inc. to survey the expanded right-of-way for the proposed widening of U.S. 19 from the north edge of Butler, in Taylor County, northward to a point about one mile in Upson County. The proposed project is 20.4 km (12.7 mi) and involves constructing a new two-lane bridge over the Flint River. For most of the project, 30 m (100 ft) of additional right-of-way on one side of the existing two-lane highway is needed and was surveyed. Two curves will be lessened, requiring about 1.8 km (1.1 mi) of new 61 m (200 ft) wide right-of-way. The survey was conducted in compliance with section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, with the goal of locating, describing and to the extent possible evaluating the significance of (in terms of eligibility to the National Register of Historic Places) all archeological sites within the proposed project's area of potential environmental effect that might be affected by the proposed undertaking. Standing historic structures were surveyed and evaluated as a separate project. A standard pedestrian survey coupled with intensive shovel testing was used to cover the project area from August 10 to September 4, 1992. A total of 13 new sites, five previously recorded sites and five artifact occurrences were located, shovel tested and recorded. The sites include four sparse lithic scatters, two nineteenth to twentieth century mill sites, nine late nineteenth/early twentieth century house or farmsteads, and three multicomponent (but predominantly historic Creek) occupation sites. As shown in Table 1, we recommend that one mill site is probably eligible to the National Register, another mill site is possibly eligible, one multicomponent occupation site is probably eligible and one is possibly eligible. We recommend that the two aboriginal sites be further tested with a series of shovel tests on a 10 m interval and four test units at each. Of the two mills recommended as possibly or probably eligible (eligibility unknown), one, McCants Mill (9TR65), should either be completely avoided by redesign of the widening project or subjected to further testing and evaluation. An architectural historian should determine eligibility based on criteria a-c and archeological testing should determine if significant remains of the mill exist. The other mill, 9TR62, is west of the proposed project boundary and should not be affected by current plans. However, project plans should be monitored closely to insure that changes do not occur that would threaten the remains of the mill. One final concern relates to the construction of the bridge over the Flint River. The area around the bridge is rich in recorded archeological sites. The new bridge will presumably require large quantities of fill dirt to build up the causeways leading to it. The borrow areas for this fill should be surveyed.