Archeological Survey of the Jim Moore road 230-25 kV Transmission Line and Substations, Gwinnett and Barrow Counties, Georgia

In July 2005, Southeastern Archeological Services, Inc. (SAS) conducted a Phase I archeological survey of approximately 7.0 km (4.36 mi) of proposed 230/25 kV transmission line corridor and two proposed substation sites, one approximately 3.0 ha (7.34 ac) and the other 2.85 ha (7.0 ac). The proposed transmission line runs from the east side of Dacula just south of US Highway 29 to a proposed substation site fronting on State Route 324 in eastern Gwinnett County. The Georgia Transmission Corporation (GTC) wishes to construct this new line within a 23 m (75 ft) wide corridor that mostly follows existing roads, but also traverses some woodlands. Based on surface inspection and the excavation of shovel tests, we discovered and recorded five archeological sites (Table 1). Four of the sites are late nineteenth to mid-twentieth century house sites, and one is a small, sparse prehistoric lithic scatter. For all four house sites, the project corridor grazes only the edge of the site, with the actual location of the house and outbuildings well outside of the proposed corridor. We recommend that none of the sites are eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, partly because of loss of integrity, but mainly for lack of research potential (National Register criterion d). The historic period sites also have no known connection to persons or events important in local or state history (criteria a and b). The eligibility of historic period sites hinges on whether the site can provide new, important information that cannot be gathered by archival and informant sources, and we conclude these four cannot. The eligibility of a prehistoric site hinges on whether it will have meaningful artifact patterning and features, which would be of research benefit to archeologists. The site here is not likely to have either.