Phase I Cultural Resources Investigation for the Griffin to Macon Fiber Transmission Line Project

Between March and September 2021, Brockington and Associates, Inc. (Brockington) completed a Phase I cultural resources survey for the llSkV transmission line rebuild and installation of a fiber optic line along an existing transmission line corridor located in Bibb, Butts, Gray, Griffin, Jasper, and Monroe counties, Georgia (Figure 1.1). The 70-mile-long corridor extends from Griffin to Macon, through the Oconee National Forest and Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge. Two Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) permits were acquired to perform our survey on U.S. Fish and Wildlife lands (PIEDNWR030621) and U.S. Forest Service lands (R202108030811.2). A Special Use Permit was also required for U.S. Fish and Wildlife (G021-013). Our cultural resources survey was carried out for Georgia Power Company (GPC) due to the planned reconstruction of the existing transmission line and installation of a fiber optic line. Our survey included a literature review to document all known resources, as well as archaeological and architectural field investigations to identify any previously unknown cultural resources. Our archaeological survey area is defined as the 70-mile transmission line corridor, which is 160 feet wide. Our architectural survey area includes the project corridor as well as an additional 100-foot buffer to account for possible visual effects. Our primary goal was to determine if the proposed project could impact cultural resources that are eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). This report includes a description of our methods, background research, field investigation results, and our project recommendations. This is a due diligence project, although all activities described herein have been carried out in accordance with the stipulations of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (per 36 CFR Part 800, as amended through 2016) and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) revised 36 CFR Part 800 Regulations. We also followed current guidelines established by the Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologists ([GCPA] 2019) and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Historic Preservation Division (GDNR HPD) (2017) as well as other pertinent state and federal guidelines. We evaluated all cultural resources identified during this investigation for eligibility for inclusion in the NRHP based on criteria set forth by 36 CFR Part 60.4. Key project personnel meet the qualifications described in the Secretary of the Interior's "Professional Qualifications Standards" (36 CFR Part 61 ). Rachel Perash served as project manager and primary author of this report. The field crew consisted of Victoria Freitas, Taylor Jordan, Bryant Long, John O'Donnell, Rebecca Stewart, Patrick Sword, Alexander Taylor, and the author. Scott Butler served as principal investigator. Allison Maier completed all architectural analysis and fieldwork. Our investigation consisted of three primary tasks: archival research, field investigation, and report production. This report includes the results of our background research, a description of our methods, the results of our survey, and our recommendations for the proposed project. Appendix A contains the artifact catalog and representative photos of artifacts, Appendix B contains the site forms, Appendix C contains the U.S. Forest Service permit, and Appendix D contains the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services permits. Appendix E contains the resume of the principal investigator. All field notes, photographs, maps, geographic information system (GIS) data, and the report will be temporarily stored at Brockington's Atlanta office. Upon approval of the final report, all materials will be sent to Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge, Oconee National Forest, or the University of Georgia for curation. Our background research indicated 11 previously recorded resources within the 100-foot viewshed. These include five (5) residential properties, two (2) cemeteries, one (1) previously NRHP-listed historic resource, and three (3) previously NRHP listed historic districts within the 100-foot viewshed. The NRHP-listed resource is the Riverside Cemetery (listed 1983), and the previously listed districts are the Napier Heights Historic District (listed 2020), the Vineville Historic District (listed 1980) and the Pleasant Hill Neighborhood Historic District (listed 1986). During the course of the survey, 93 historic age resources were identified. These resources consisted of two (2) railroads, four ( 4) newly identified neighborhoods, three (3) previously NRHP-listed districts, one (1) previously NRHP-listed cemetery, two (2) other cemeteries, and eighty-one (81) individual buildings. After reviewing these resources, we recommend that eight of these resources should be considered eligible for listing on the National Register under Criteria A and C. Resource 1 is ca. 1881 railroad. Resource 70 is ca. 1956 commercial building. Resource 76 is a ca. 1920 commercial building. Resource 77 is a ca. 1840 railroad. Resource 79 is a ca. 1887 factory building. Resource 83 is a ca. 1962 VFW building. Forest-Northbrook-Mallory-District is a ca. 1950s residential neighborhood. Key Court District is a 1950s-1960s residential neighborhood. During our field survey, Brockington archaeologists identified 21 archaeological sites within the Griffin-Macon project corridor. Of these, three were previously identified sites (9JA424; 9JO56; 9MO480). We recommend Site 9BS126 and Site 9JA424 as unassessed for inclusion to the NRHP; however, the portions of the sites within the project corridor are non-contributing elements. All sites are discussed further below.