Archaeological Survey of a Portion of US Highway 11 State Route 4

The Georgia Department of Transportation is intending to widen a 15.8 km (9.8 mi) section of U.S. Highway l/State Route 4 extending south from Swainsboro, the county seat of Emanuel County, to Interstate Highway 16 in the southern portion of the county. In essence, an additional pair of lanes and a 13 in (44 ft) wide median will be added to one side of the existing highway. Southeastern Archeological Services was contracted to conduct an intensive archeological survey of the new right-of-way, to insure compliance with section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (as amended), which stipulates that federal agencies, in this case the Federal Highway Administration, take into account all historic properties eligible to the National Register of Historic Places that may be adversely affected by a proposed undertaking. The undertaking here is the widening of the highway, which could physically adversely affect archeological sites within the project's area of potential effect, which equates to the proposed expanded right-of-way. The goals of this survey were to locate, delineate, and evaluate the significance of, in terms of eligibility to the National Register, all prehistoric and historic sites within the area of potential effect. Standing structures are being evaluated separately and were not included in this survey. Twelve sites were recorded by this survey. One is a sparse prehistoric lithic scatter, one is a crossroads house/barn/store complex, one is a cotton gin complex, one is a ca. 1930s motor court complex, and the remaining eight are late nineteenth to mid-twentieth century house/farmsteads. The prehistoric site has very sparse, plowzone material and lacks research potential. All of the historic period sites were in use to the mid-twentieth century, and most originated in the early part of the century; a few in the late nineteenth century. Most have been razed or otherwise heavily disturbed. We believe that none of the historic period sites retain sufficient integrity and data to warrant further archeological research. None are known to relate to significant events or persons. Therefore, we recommend that none of the twelve sites are eligible for inclusion in the National Register because none are likely to contribute important information to our understanding of regional history or prehistory. It is the opinion of the principal investigator that no cultural resources eligible to the National Register of Historic Places will be affected by the proposed widening of U.S. Highway 1 / State Route 4.