Phase I Cultural Resources Survey of The Mill at Stone Valley DCA Site, Cherokee County, Georgia

On behalf of AEI Consultants, Southern Research, Historic Preservation Consultants, Inc. conducted a Phase I Cultural Resources Survey consisting of a survey for archaeological resources and an assessment of the visual impact of a proposed housing complex upon a historic structure located and the Ball Ground historic district. Located in Cherokee County in the town of Ball Ground, the Area of Potential Effect (APE) consists of an approximately 8-acre tract situated between Ball Ground Highway, Coy M. Holcomb Drive, Valley Street, and Howell Bridge Road.

This survey was conducted based on the findings and recommendations of a previous cultural resources records review and reconnaissance survey of the APE (Wood 2017). In compliance with the Georgia Historic Preservation Division’s Department of Community Affairs’ (DCA) regulations, this previous work was part of a due diligence effort designed to identify the potential for issues with significant cultural resources (historic buildings and archaeological sites) in or adjacent to the proposed action within the APE. The Georgia Environmental Policy Act (GEPA) requires an agency to determine if their actions constitute a significant impact to the quality of the environment. The DCA Environmental Manual requires that applicants for their programs provide documentation regarding the effect the proposed project will have on significant historic buildings and archaeological sites. The reconnaissance survey conducted in 2017 identified two possible archaeological sites within the direct APE, one including a possible structural foundation, as well as one historic structure within the visual APE. Based on the results, it was recommended that an intensive Phase I survey of the direct APE and an assessment of the visual impact of the proposed development on the historic structure and the Ball Ground historic district. The DCA, which serves as Georgia’s State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), provides advisory comments on the agency’s proposed action. The Georgia SHPO concurred with this recommendation for a Phase I survey of the subject property.

As a result of the archaeological survey, no archaeological materials were identified. While two separate structures are known to have been present within the APE during the middle to late twentieth century based on historic aerial photographs and maps (see Wood 2017), nothing remains of them within the APE. In 2006, the APE was graded and terraformed during the development of a subdivision, and as a result, the houses and the archaeological record that would have been associated with them was removed. A concrete foundation of a structure present in the northwest corner of the APE that is visible in post-2007 aerial imagery was determined not to represent the foundation of a historic-era building, but rather to have been constructed during the 2000s-era development. The rest of the structure was never completed as the development of the subdivision was terminated. Subsoil clay was present throughout the APE, and no artifacts or features were observed.

Based on the survey of the visual impact of the proposed development upon the historic structure and the Ball Ground historic district, the new construction will not have an adverse effect upon either of these resources. The historic structure is heavily obscured from view due to trees and other vegetation but modern siding and replacement windows were observed. In addition, the parcel on which it is located has recently been rezoned with the intention of constructing two additional single-family structures on it. Further, the structure is surrounded by modern development. In regards to the historic district, the APE is located at the southern end of the district, and thus will be screened from view within the district except on the streets immediately surrounding it.

Based on these findings, it is Southern Research’s recommendation that no additional cultural resources work is necessary.