Phase II Testing of Site 9RI608 Haynie's Mill Site Fort Gordon, Georgia

In 1993, Southeastern Archeological Services identified 9RI608 (Haynie's Mill Site) as a historic house, mill, and bridge site during a Phase I survey on Fort Gordon. Site 9RI608 was recommended potentially eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) based on the survey findings. A proposed 24-inch pipeline route was originally planned to cross the site; in consequence, R.S. Webb & Associates (RSWA) conducted Phase II archeological testing of 9RI608 in April 2009 on behalf of ZEL Engineers, at the request of Fort Gordon, in order to further delineate the site boundaries and form a clear NRHP eligibility recommendation. Literature and Records Search: A limited literature review was conducted in order to clarify the historic context of 9RI608. Information was gathered on the site from the Georgia State Archeological Site File (GASF), compliance and research reports, historic maps, county histories, early newspapers, and early aerial photographs. In particular, the phase I survey report that first identified Site 9RI608 was reviewed. The literature and records search was conducted at the appropriate state repositories for cultural resources information in Atlanta, Morrow, and Athens, Georgia. The site was estimated to be 160 meters (m) by 140 m based on surface features observed during the 1993 survey. Within this area, a combination of landscape scanning, surface inspection and shovel testing was used to detect the remains of the mill and house site and assess their integrity. Shovel testing involved the excavation of 30 by 30 centimeter (cm) units on a 30-m grid within the site. In areas of known features and/or artifact concentrations, the shovel test interval was decreased to 15 m. Following the shovel testing, 1.0 x 1.0 m units were excavated to clarify the NRHP eligibility of the site. These units were placed in areas of possible features/artifact concentrations as identified by the surface inspection and shovel testing. Based on the archival research, two mill sites were in the vicinity of 9RI608 by 1849, one on the Whitehead estate and one on Glassock property. Both of these are listed as adjacent to the Haynie property. Based on place name reference on historic maps to "Haynie Road" and Haynie's Pond" and the presence of the Haynie family cemetery near the site, it is the Haynie family who most likely occupied if not owned the site. From census data and other records, the Haynie family were living in the area of Site 9RJ608 prior to and after the Civil War. Testing of Site 9RI608 was accomplished through the excavation of 83 shovel tests and five 1-by-1-m test units. Shovel testing results and the extent of surface features indicated that the site spanned 210 m by 140 m, oriented northeast-southwest. A total of 1,154 artifacts were recovered of which 95 percent are historic. Diagnostic artifacts include cut nails, pearlware, decorated whiteware, yellowware, stoneware, kaolin pipe fragments, and bottle glass. A buried historic midden was identified in Test Unit I containing a high percentage of ceramics, bottle glass, and food bone. Concentrations of structural artifacts were present in three test units suggesting the presence of two to three structures. The site appears to have been a residence/farmstead with a primary occupation in the middle 19' century as defined by ceramic and nail date analysis. The ceramic assemblage suggests that the occupants were a middle income family. Other than the above ground features of the mill dam and pond remains, Phase II testing provided no evidence of the milling operation. The association of a mill with the house site may be clarified with further research.