Archeological Survey of the Proposed Bridge Replacement at SR 369 Over Settingdown Creek, Forsyth County, Georgia

Southeastern Archeological Services, Inc. (SAS) conducted a Phase I archeological survey of the area of potential effect for the replacement of the SR 369 bridge over Settingdown Creek in northern Forsyth County in early November 2005. The Georgia Department of Transportation wishes to replace the existing two-lane bridge with a new two-lane bridge immediately to the south. The area of potential effect is a corridor 793 m (2,600 ft) long that is composed of the existing 80-ft wide right-of-way plus another 70 ft to the south. Thus, the area of potential effect extends 12 m (40 ft) to the north of the centerline of SR 369 and 34 m (110 ft) to the south. One aspect of the planning and design process, required by Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, is to locate archeological sites in the proposed area of potential effect, assess each site's significance in terms of its eligibility for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places and finally assess project effects to those sites determined eligible to the National Register. The survey presented herein satisfies those requirements. Archival research showed that no archeological sites had been previously recorded in the project corridor and that one historic period farmstead could exist in the southeastern quadrant of the project area. The survey resulted in the discovery and recording of two sites, the predicted late nineteenth to mid-twentieth century farmstead on the east side of Settingdown Creek and a prehistoric pottery and lithic scatter on the west side. We recommend that neither the prehistoric artifact scatter or the historic period farmstead is eligible to the National Register because both have poor integrity, neither is associated with persons or events important in history or prehistory and neither have research potential (the ability to yield important information through more work). Thus, we recommend that no archeological resources in the area of potential effect for the SR 369 over Settingdown Creek bridge replacement project qualify for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, and that in regard to archeological resources, the project be granted clearance to proceed.