On April 13, 2018, a Phase I archeological survey was conducted on a proposed recreational trail in Dowdy Park in the City of Summerville, Chattooga County, Georgia. The proposed gravel trail is approximately122 m (400 ft) long, paralleling, then crossing Town Branch, a 3-m (10-ft) wide stream which is a tributary of the Chattooga River. The survey included background research, examination of the Georgia Archaeological Site Files, and a day of fieldwork. During the fieldwork, we excavated six shovel tests which were 30 cm (1 ft) in diameter and ranged from 25 - 100 cm (8-36 in) deep, with the fill sifted through .64-cm (.25-in) hardware cloth. Other than a few obviously modern artifacts (aluminum bottle cap, plastic, beer bottle fragment, a railroad spike, cinders, etc., – not collected), no older artifacts were found. The proposed trail crosses the floodplain of Town Branch where the underlying soil is poorly drained alluvial loam and clay, an unfavorable setting for habitation. No archeological sites were found, leading to the conclusion that trail construction will not affect any significant cultural resources.
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