Archaeological Reconnaissance of Two Proposed Water Reservoirs, Gordon County, Georgia

The City of Calhoun, Georgia proposes to improve the water quality of its residents by constructing two small water reservoirs. Each of these reservoirs will be constructed on a one acre lot. The Brown Lee Mountain tract is located in southwestern Gordon County, and the Sugar Valley tract lies in the northwestern part of the county. Figure 1 shows the locations of the two proposed construction sites. The area of potential effect (APE) of the proposed construction is confined to the boundaries of each tract.

                In a letter dated 29 October 2002, Richard Cloues (Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer [SHPO] with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Historic Preservation Division) commented on the plan to construct the two water system improvement projects and requested archaeological reconnaissance of both project tracts. The SHPO comments were offered to assist the City of Calhoun comply with the provisions of the Georgia Environmental Policy Act (GEPA), and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, as applicable.

                Brockington and Associates, Inc., contracted with the City of Calhoun to conduct the archaeological reconnaissance recommended by the SHPO. The two basic tasks for the reconnaissance were to:

                •Conduct background research to determine if archaeological sites are known to be within each project's APE; and

                • Conduct a field visit to evaluate the potential for the presence of significant archaeological resources.

                To determine if archaeological sites have been recorded within the study tracts, or in their immediate vicinities, records on file with the Georgia Archaeological Site Files (GASF) at the University of Georgia in Athens were reviewed. For the field visit, a MA level archaeologist (Ms. Elizabeth Fuller) examined the tract. No shovel tests were excavated during the field visit. If evidence was found during the background research and field visit suggesting archaeological remains were present within the two tracts' APEs, Brockington and Associates, Inc. would have recommend that intensive archaeological surveys be conducted to properly evaluate the tract(s).