An Archaeological Survey of the Houston Lake Road Widening Project Houston County, Ga

Between August 1996 and July 1997, Southeastern Archeological Services (SAS) conducted an intensive archeological survey of the proposed widening of Houston Lake Road from a point 3.2 km (1.9 mi) south of its intersection with State Route (SR) 247c (Watson Boulevard in Warner Robins), through its merging with SR 127, and terminating at the Mossy Creek bridge in Houston County. The majority of the project will involve the conversion of the existing two-lane highway into four paired lanes separated by a grassed median. According to the project maps, a 5-6 m (15-20 ft) strip on each side of the current right-of-way will be affected. In addition, new location is required for two segments of the road in order to avoid residential areas. Here, the proposed new right-of-way is about 31 m (100 ft) wide. Seven intersection improvements are also involved. The survey recorded nine archeological sites: three are cemeteries, four are historic artifact scatters, one has both historic artifacts and prehistoric lithics, and one is a prehistoric lithic scatter (Table 1). None of the sites are recommended eligible to the National Register of Historic Places. Sanderfur Road will be realigned in order to improve its intersection with Houston Lake Road and the cemetery is situated at the terminus of the realignment. Historic research indicates that there may be unmarked graves within the present right-of-way. Therefore, no ground disturbing activities should be conducted on the north side of Sanderfur Road at this location.