Cultural Resources Survey for the Proposed Pooler Parkway, Chatham County, Georgia

This cultural resources survey was conducted prior to construction of the proposed Pooler Parkway in Chatham County, Georgia. This roadway is 6.59 km (4.1 miles) long and approximately 61 m (200 feet) wide, extending from U.S. Highway 80 to Quacco Road. While much of the area investigated was wet, evidence of past human activity was discovered throughout the corridor. The survey was conducted March 13-16, 1995, by Garrow & Associates, Inc. A combination pedestrian survey and subsurface (archaeological) testing program was conducted throughout the entire corridor. The literature search conducted prior to the fieldwork determined that limited activities had occurred in the vicinity of the project corridor until relatively late in the historic period. Although these activities were primarily agricultural, canals, railroads, and roadways traverse the corridor. The archaeological investigation located one site (9CH824) and one isolated find; neither is recommended eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The above-ground survey identified two railroad-related resources that are recommended eligible for the NRHP. One of the resources, a section of the Central of Georgia Railway, was abandoned in 1962. This former line runs just south of U.S. Highway 80. The line contributed to establishing Savannah as a trading center in the Southeast during the mid nineteenth century. The other resource, the former Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, is currently an active line operated by the CSX Corporation. It is located near the north end of the project area south of the former Central of Georgia line and U.S. Highway 80. While the bed, ties, and rails are modern, the line follows a historic route that was constructed sometime between 1875 and 1911. This survey also identified two NRHP-ineligible resources that lie within the project area. An abandoned railroad grade was located in the southern portion of the project area. Due to the fact that the line may not be historic and that no trace of it is visible in the project area, it is recommended ineligible for the NRHP. The other resource, the Hardin Canal, crosses the northern end of the project area. Georgia's Historic Preservation Division (HPD) has noted in its review of two previous GDOT projects that the Hardin Canal is a drainage ditch that does not qualify under NRHP Criterion C as an engineering structure. A section of the Savannah and Ogeechee Canal was also identified near the southern end of the project area. The canal was determined eligible by the HPD in 1983 but is outside of the area of potential effects (APE) for the Pooler Parkway project.