The City of Washington, the county seat of Wilkes County, Georgia, is applying to the Georgia Department of Transportation for a grant under the federal Intermodal Surface Transportation Enhancement Act program (ISTEA) to improve the appearance of the downtown square and several blocks of the main street, Robert Toombs Avenue (Figure 1). The project consists mainly of replacing existing, modem concrete sidewalks with brick pavers and new curbs. Additional landscaping will include the burying of utility lines and the placement of new shrubs, trees, benches, light poles and trash receptacles. The City has completed most of the grant application forms and descriptions of the project, but was asked by the Department of Transportation to provide an archeological survey of the project area to insure that significant archeological resources would not be adversely affected by the proposed project. Much of the project area is within the Washington Commercial Historic District and the project borders three individual National Register properties, two of which are within the district (Figure 2). The individual properties are the Fitzpatrick Hotel, Tupper-Barnett House, and Wilkes County Courthouse.
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