Data Recovery at Archaeological Site 9CH1185 Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia S&ME Project No. 4213-20-137 GA HPD Project No. HP-080620-005 SAS 200800707

S&ME, Inc. (S&ME) has completed the data recovery investigation at the Parker Plantation Site (archaeological site 9CH1185 or the site), in advance of a planned development at the Rockingham Farms Industrial Park Site (Figure 1-1). This work was performed in general accordance with the Memorandum of Agreement Among the Savannah District, US Army Corps of Engineers, The Georgia State Historic Preservation Office, and Rockingham Farms, LLC, Concerning the Treatment of Historic Properties to be Adversely Affected by the Implementation of the Rockingham Farms Industrial Park Site, Chatham County, Georgia (MOA) (Appendix A: Design Plan), the Education and Public Outreach Plan for Archaeological Site 9CH1185 and Research Design and Scope of Work for Archaeological Site 9CH1185 approved by Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Historic Preservation Division (HPD) on March 8, 2021, and S&ME Proposal No. 42-200382B authorized by Rockingham Farms, LLC on March 5, 2021. A copy of the approved Education and Public Outreach Plan for Archaeological Site 9CH1185 is attached as Appendix B.

Rockingham Farms LLC, intends to construct an industrial park that will include site 9CH1185. The site is located on the Rockingham Farms property, near Savannah in Chatham County, Georgia. The planned development, referred to as Rockingham Farm Industrial Park, will consist of two potential sequential development (construction) phases on the southwestern edge of the 1,084- acre tract.

Site 9CH1185 covers an area of approximately 270 meters by 75 meters (approximately two hectares or five acres). The Parker Plantation Site is the remains of a late eighteenth/early nineteenth century plantation, which was owned by various members of the Parker family. The most prominent owner was Doctor William Parker. Dr. Parker was one of the founders of the Georgia Medical Society and owned the property from 1766-1838. Previous investigations indicated that site 9CH1185 was the remains of the working plantation of Dr. William Parker. The previous study, Cultural Resources Survey and Evaluation of the Rockingham Farms Tract, identified remains thought to be the overseer’s house, outbuildings, and residences of the enslaved people (Appendix A: Butler et al. 2008).

On March 16, 2021, S&ME initiated the fieldwork at 9CH1185. Aaron Brummitt, RPA served was the Principal Investigator. Quinn-Monique Ogden, RPA served as the Project Archaeologist and directed the fieldwork (see Appendix C: Resumes). The field crew also included (in alphabetical order by last name) Katherine Brown, Thomas Goodwin, Jeff Hardy, Amelia Hessey, Lori Robbins, Nathan Smith, and Thomas Vallrugo. Karen Klein assisted with administrative support and logistics, Heather L. Carpini served as the Senior Historian and Monica Hendricks was the Assistant Historian. We completed the fieldwork on May 7, 2021.