A Cultural Resources Survey for the Proposed Collins Chip Mill Substation and Transmission Line

An intensive cultural resources survey was conducted by the Atlanta Branch of the Cultural Resources Section of Michael Baker Jr., Inc., on December 15th, 1995, for Oglethorpe Power Corporation in Tattnall County, Georgia. The survey encompassed 0.94 hectares (2.35 ac). The project personnel consisted of one cultural resource specialist (the principal investigator) and one field technician. Survey consisted of background archival research (to locate previously identified cultural resources and assess the potential for new discovery), fieldwork (excavation of 15 shovel test units spread appropriately across the project area and pedestrian reconnaissance), and report production. This report will summarize the project scope and effect, environmental and cultural context, the cultural resources survey effort undertaken, the methodology, results and recommendations. The proposed Collins Chip Mill Substation and Transmission Line is located in Tattnall County, north of Reidsville, Georgia (Figure 1). It is located in the Southern Coastal Plain Geophysical Province, in the southeastern portion of the Vidalia Upland District. The immediate setting consists of gradually sloping hillside and slight knob, at the end of a finger-ridge. The general region is an area of remnant sand hills downcut by slow meandering rivers and creeks. The proposed transmission line extends from an existing transmission line, running perpendicular towards the southeast (Figure 2). The project right-of-way traverses a low forested hillside, followed by a steeper north-trending hillslope, crosses a dirt road, passes through flatter forested terrain, across another dirt road and onto a broad knoll which has been completely disturbed by construction activity (the site of the future chip mill). The project vicinity is bounded on the west and south by the Brazells Creek floodplain, a tributary of the Ohoopee River. The region is underlain by Pleistocene marine sands, loams and clay. The project consists of emplacement of a substation and transmission line. Construction may effect the deposits to an unspecified depth for transmission line power poles, and up to several meters for the substation. Secondary effects will occur primarily in the immediate vicinity of the easement due to the movement of heavy equipment. Types of effects may include the removal and relocation of soils, emplacement of a power poles in some areas, and perhaps subsequent increases in erosional outwash or redeposition. Tattnall County is located in the Southern Coastal Plain Geophysical Province, in the southeastern portion of Georgia. The project area falls within the Vidalia Upland District of that province. The climate, topography, soils and vegetation are characteristic of the Southern Coastal Plain. Summary of environmental conditions and soil characteristics are based on Perkins and Shaffer (1977) and Paulk (1980).