Architectural Survey and Phase II Archaeological Testing of Three Sites on the Highway 21 Port Wentworth Tracts, Chatham County, Georgia

Between March 16 and June 17, 2021 Brockington and Associates, Inc. (Brockington), conducted intensive Phase II evaluations at three archaeological sites (9CH920, 9CH924, 9CH929) and an updated architectural survey of the Port Wentworth Highway 21 Development Tract in Chatham County, Georgia. The purpose of these evaluations was to provide definitive National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility recommendations for these previously recorded archaeological sites, and identify and evaluate all historic resources within the project’s area of potential effect (APE). This investigation was carried out for Resource and Land Consultants, LLC, of Savannah, Georgia, in partial fulfilment of guidelines established for Section 404 of the Clean Water Act permit. 

The goal of the Phase II archaeological investigation was to further evaluate the three archaeological sites. Specific objectives included refining site boundaries, collecting artifact samples, assessing the potential for intact archaeological deposits, and assessing the potential for the sites to address topics regarding past lifeways. These data were used to provide a definitive statement on the sites’ NRHP eligibility. In addition, management recommendations for each site are provided for future preservation, additional research, or clearance for construction. Based on the result of these investigations, we recommend all three sites as not eligible for inclusion on the NRHP and no further management considerations are necessary.

The architectural field survey consisted of a visual pedestrian walkover of the project tract and its viewshed. Environmental Services, Inc. (ESI), recorded six historic architectural resources (A-F) in the Port Wentworth area in 2000 (Kratzer et al. 2000) and 2001 (Kratzer et al. 2001). The six previously recorded architectural resources include one resource within the project footprint (Kratzer E), four resources inside the 0.25-mile viewshed (Kratzer A, B, C, and D), and one resource just outside the APE (Kratzer F). These were all previously recorded as not eligible for listing on the NRHP. Brockington revisited these resources and found Kratzer B and C no longer extant. Brockington recommends Kratzer A, Richmond Baptist Church eligible for the NRHP but finds that the proposed project will have no adverse effect to the resource. For the architectural survey, Brockington identified and recorded 22 historic architectural resources, including one subdivision, within the APE. The 22 newly identified resources recorded range in date from c. 1890 to 1971. One resource, a portion of the former Seaboard Air Line Railroad, is eligible for inclusion on the NRHP. Given the vegetative buffer between the resource and the proposed development, the project will have no adverse effect to the resource. The remaining recorded resources are not eligible for inclusion on the NRHP and no further management considerations are necessary.