Archeological Survey of the Proposed Revised Route of the Swainsboro Bypass Emanuel County, Georgia

In June 1993 Southeastern Archeological Services, Inc. surveyed the 16.9 km (10.5 mi) proposed route of a bypass around the west side of Swainsboro (King 1993). After submission of the survey report, the routing of the northern portion of the bypass was changed. Southeastern Archeological Services conducted an intensive archeological survey of the new portion of the proposed bypass in June 1995 to insure compliance with section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (as amended), which stipulates that federal agencies, in this case the Federal Highway Administration, take into account all historic properties eligible to the National Register of Historic Places that may be adversely affected by a proposed undertaking. The new section of right-of-way is 10.3 km (6.4 mi) long and 76 m (249.3 ft) wide. The goals of this survey were to locate, delineate, and evaluate the significance of, in terms of eligibility to the National Register, all prehistoric and historic sites along the proposed new route. Two previously recorded sites (9EM26 and 9EM29), which are late nineteenth to mid-twentieth century house sites that have been determined not eligible to the National Register, are partially within the proposed new alignment. Two new sites (9EM39 and 9EM40) are similar, in that both are late nineteenth to mid-twentieth century house sites that have been partially disturbed by their razing and/or the mechanized clearing of the site area. Both sites have a visible well, piles of debris, and a scatter of twentieth century artifacts, some of which have been dumped on the sites after site abandonment. We recommend that both new sites are not eligible for inclusion in the National Register because neither is likely to contribute important information to our understanding of historic period issues. Similarly, we concur with the earlier recommendation that previously discovered sites are not eligible to the National Register. The survey also recorded three artifact occurrences, two of which were prehistoric artifacts and one of which was a single piece of glass. These too are recommended not eligible to the National Register, as they also are not likely to yield additional important information. It is the opinion of the principal investigator that no cultural resources eligible to the National Register of Historic Places will be affected by the proposed construction of the western bypass around Swainsboro.