Phase I Intensive Cultural Resources Survey for Raccoon Key, Camden County, Georgia

Between August 26 and 30, 2019, Brockington and Associates, Inc. (Brockington) conducted an intensive Phase I cultural resources survey of 26.5 acres of upland/dikes on Raccoon Key in Camden County, Georgia. Proposed wetland mitigation efforts will directly impact soils by breaching the dikes in several locations, allowing tidal waters to flow into the freshwater impounds that make up a portion of the project tract. Secondary impacts will occur primarily from the movement of heavy machinery in the project tract and changes in water level and erosion as the area returns to wetland. Types of impacts include removal and relocation of soils, clearing of vegetation, and filling activities.  

This cultural resource investigation was carried out for Resource and Land Consultants, LLC in partial fulfilment of guidelines established for Section 404 of the Clean Water Act permit. This investigation follows standards and guidelines that comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (as amended through 2006) by personnel qualified under the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards (36 CFR Part 61: Standards and Guidelines for Archaeology and Historic Preservation).  

To identify potentially significant resources within the project’s area of potential effect (APE), we conducted background researched and completed a cultural resources survey. Background research conducted on Georgia’s Natural, Archaeological, and Historic Resources GIS (GNAHRGIS) website identified no previously recorded archaeological sites or historic resources within the project tract. IN addition, no previously recorded architectural resources or archaeological resources are located within one mile (1.62 km) of the project tract.  

Brockington conducted both an archaeological field survey and an architectural field survey within the APE of the project tract. The archaeological field survey included systematic visual reconnaissance and 30-m-interval shovel testing. The field survey identified no archaeological sites or isolated finds. The architectural survey identified two historic resources located within the project tract on Raccoon Key. Resources 1 is a two-story circa 1960 vernacular house that is recommended not eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Resource 2 is the former Marineland Farms landscape which includes the four-exiting freshwater impoundments surrounded by the dike system. Resource 2 is recommended not eligible for inclusion on the NRHP. No additional cultural resources management considerations are warranted for this proposed project. Therefore, we recommend cultural resources clearance for the proposed wetland mitigation on Raccoon Key.