An Intensive Cultural Resource Assessment Survey of the Baisden Bluff Parcel, McIntosh County, Georgia

From June 20 to 23, 2006, an intensive cultural resource assessment survey was conducted of a 9acre tract in northern McIntosh County, Georgia. The project tract is the proposed site of the Baisden Bluff development. The present project was undertaken by Bland and Associates, Inc. (BAI) at the request of C J Tybee, LLC of Savannah, Georgia to comply with federal and state regulations regarding the identification and management of historic properties that might occur within the project tract. The term "cultural resources," as used herein, refers to those districts, structures, sites and objects that would qualify as "historic properties" as the latter term is defined in 36 CFR 800.16(1), as those such entities meeting the criteria for eligibility for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places given at 36 CFR 60.4. All cultural resources within the project tract were evaluated for significance and to determine their eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The proposed Baisden Bluff development will require a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE), as well as permits from other agencies; the permit from these agencies will necessitate an archaeological survey in order to satisfy Section 106 requirements. The purpose of the proposed project is to build a residential development with associated roadways and drainage systems. It should be noted that this project has not been assigned an agency tracking number. The present project involved a detailed pedestrian survey of the project area and shovel testing over the project tract on a staggered 15-meter grid. Of the 42 shovel tests dug, 22 resulted in the recovery of cultural materials and the delineation of one previously unrecorded archaeological site. The Baisden Bluff site is a variable density, multicomponent site (190 x 70 m) containing Woodland and Mississippian period prehistoric components, and historic materials dating to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In addition, a historic house and a pet cemetery were recorded within site boundaries, while a historic cemetery (the D'Antignac Family Cemetery) was observed just outside the boundaries of the site, within a outparcel that is not part of the proposed development. Historic artifacts were recovered from plowzone contexts indicating that the site's historic component lacks archaeological integrity. In contrast, prehistoric pottery and scattered oyster and clam shells were recovered from subsurface contexts along the bluff. The prehistoric component at Baisden Bluff appears to represent a short-term camp site utilized during several phases of prehistory. During its use, it was possibly tied to a residential base or village located elsewhere. Currently, however, our understanding of the local prehistoric settlement patterns is unclear. Thus, additional testing may help better define the role of sites, which, in term, should provide a broader understanding of the regional settlement-subsistence system. Thus, it is recommended that additional testing consisting of the excavation of between two and four 1x2 meter units be conducted prior to proposed development of the project area. According to present development plans, the extant house located within the boundaries of a site is to be relocated within the current project tract and utilized within the development land plan as a clubhouse. Based upon the age of this structure, some historic research appears warranted to document this structure and historic land-use within the project tract. It is also recommended that stone markers associated with a small pet cemetery located within site boundaries be relocated prior to project construction. Finally, to ensure that the cemetery boundaries are correct and that no burials extend outside of its currently fenced periphery, it is recommended that a line of shovel tests be excavated parallel to the current boundaries of the D'Antignac Family Cemetery, which is enclosed within a fenced out-parcel and not scheduled for development.