Cultural Resource Survey of the Conasauga River Valley Transmission Line, Catoosa, Murray, and Whitfield Counties

In April and May 1996, Garrow & Associates, Inc., under a contract with the Tennessee Valley Authority, completed a cultural resource survey of the proposed corridor for the Conasauga River Valley Transmission Line. The project corridor is approximately 48.5 miles long and typically measures 150 feet wide. The corridor crosses three counties in Georgia, Catoosa, Murray, and Whitfield, and traverses a range of environmental settings, including ridge and valley zones and floodplain areas. The archaeological field survey consisted of shovel testing and visual inspection at 30 m intervals. Two transects were placed in all segments of the project corridor along the right-ofway previously staked by TVA surveyors. Twenty-three archaeological sites were discovered in the project corridor; 17 isolated finds were also recovered. Three sites are recommended potentially eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP); however, if these sites are hand-cleared and tower footings are not placed within their boundaries, preservation in place is recommended. The architectural survey involved examination of every building in the project corridor and the area of potential effect (APE). The survey identified 18 historic resources; all the buildings are outside the corridor but within the APE. One of them, the Vann House, is listed on the NRHP. Of the other 17 properties identified by the survey, four are recommended as ineligible and 13 are considered potentially eligible. Ten of the potentially eligible resources face a potential adverse visual effect from the proposed undertaking. Because the Vann House is located well outside the project corridor and its historic setting has already been compromised by recent development, the proposed undertaking is judged to have no effect on it. For the potentially eligible properties, Determination of Eligibility documents should be prepared, followed by an Assessment of Effects report and mitigation of the adverse effect, if necessary.