An Intensive Cultural Resources Survey of the Proposed Widening of Stilesboro Road, Cobb County, Georgia

Southeastern Archeological Services, Inc., recently completed an intensive cultural resources survey of areas to be impacted by the proposed widening of Stilesboro Road in Cobb County, Georgia for the engineering firm of Post, Buckley, Schuh, & Jernigan, and the Cobb County Department of Transportation. The survey was conducted to be in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, with the goal of locating, describing and, to the extent possible, evaluating the significance of (in terms of eligibility to the National Register of Historic Places) all archeological sites that might be affected by the proposed undertaking. The survey was guided by detailed plan maps provided by the Cobb County Department of Transportation. These maps indicate that approximately 5.7 miles of Stilesboro Road are scheduled for widening. From the west, the project begins at the intersection of Mars Hill Road with Stilesboro Road, and continues east to a point just beyond where the Barrett Parkway (currently under construction) crosses Stilesboro Road. In addition, a number of other roads will be widened near their intersection with Stilesboro Road. Throughout much of the corridor, both the new lanes and construction related activities will be limited to existing road and transmission line right-of-way. In several places, however, road construction will extend 30-40 meters beyond the existing right-of-way. Although the entire impact area was surveyed, these areas received the greatest scrutiny, as they were the areas most likely to contain preserved archeological deposits. The archeological survey commenced on June 5, and was completed on June 8. The right-of-way of Stilesboro Road was walked and visually inspected for artifacts. Where the proposed impact zone widens to include areas outside of existing right-of-way, we employed a combination of visual inspection and the excavation of shovel tests at 30 m intervals. Not including those on sites, approximately 179 shovel tests were excavated within the project area. The locations of these tests, as well as areas that were visually inspected, were plotted on the detailed project maps. Nine archeological sites and two artifact occurrences were identified on this survey. Table 1 presents basic component and management data for the sites. Six of the sites consist of historic artifact scatters. All of these sites are recommended ineligible to the National Register of Historic Places due to the sparsity of deposits or lack of integrity. One, however, includes a standing structure which, like the other structures to be impacted, will require architectural review. Two sites consist of historic period earthen features. One of these is a trench, and the other is a raised berm. The purpose and date of construction of these features could not be determined on the basis of survey data alone. There is a possibility that both could be earthworks constructed during Civil War actions in the area. Both are situated on high, strategically important landforms. Moreover, both sites are very near the locations of trenches indicated on Civil War era maps. Further testing is recommended to better identify the nature of these sites, and until such testing can be completed they are recommended potentially eligible for the National Register. Finally, one site consists of a prehistoric artifact scatter on a terrace above the floodplain of Allatoona Creek. The recovery of plain, sand tempered pottery indicate that this site was occupied during the Woodland or Mississippian period. The quality and Table 1. Management Information. 9CO380 Prehistoric artifact scatter Woodland potentially eligible testing 9CO381 historic artifact scatter late 19th/20th century ineligible none 9CO382 earthen features Civil War? potentially eligible testing 9CO383 historic artifact scatter late 19th/20th century ineligible none 9CO384 historic artifact scatter late 19th/20th century ineligible none 9CO385 standing structure 20th century architectural review historic artifact scatter 19th/20th century ineligible none 9CO386 historic artifact scatter 19th/20th century ineligible none 9CO387 isolated prehistoric lithic Early Archaic ineligible none earthen feature Civil War? potentially eligible testing 9Co388 historic house site 19th/20th century ineligible none isolated prehistoric lithic unidentified prehis. ineligible none quantity of artifacts in several of our tests suggests that it may have been occupied at least seasonally, and therefore could contain features such as postmolds, storage pits, hearths, and possibly burials. Additional testing should be conducted at this site to better determine the nature and extent of the deposits. It too is recommended potentially eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.