Phase I Archaeological Assessment of the Bud Hutcheson Road Extension Project, Coffee County, Georgia

The purpose of this report is to present the results of a recently completed Phase I archaeological survey of the Area of Potential Effect (APE) of the Bud Hutcheson Road Extension project in Coffee County, Georgia. The Coffee County Commissioners (hereinafter referred to as the Commissioners) plan to connect the existing Bud Hutcheson Road with Sinkhole Road, a distance of approximately 857 meters (2810 feet). Since the project is to cross a significant wetland, the county sought a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, for construction across the wetland as required by Section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, commonly known as the Clean Water Act. The archaeological investigation was carried out by the Principal Investigator and president of Southeastern Horizons, Inc., in accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (36 CFR Part 800.16[d]) and under contract with Fountain Surveying. It was conducted to meet the standards defined by the Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologists and published as Guidelines for Archaeological Surveys (2001). The field work was executed on 12 March and 15 March 2004 by the Principal Investigator. It involved both shovel testing and the surface reconnaissance of bare soil areas to assess the presence/absence of cultural materials. Since only a single artifact was recovered, and it was found in a location of fill soil, no laboratory work was necessary. There is no need for any further archaeological assessment of the APE of this project. The Principal Investigator would like to thank Mr. Francis Fountain, Coffee County Surveyor, for his able assistance with this project.