Phase I Cultural Resources Survey of the Proposed Development at the Sterling Heights DCA Site, Macon, Bibb County, Georgia

Southern Research, Historic Preservation Consultants, Inc. has conducted the Phase I Cultural

Resources Survey of the proposed senior housing development at Sterling Heights in Macon,

Bibb County, Georgia to identify significant historic and archaeological resources that might be

affected by the construction, maintenance, and use of any development within the tract. The

approximately 18 acre property lies immediately south of Interstate 75 and immediately east of

and adjacent to Wesleyan Drive (Figures 1 and 2). The Area of Potential Effect (APE) has been

farmed and logged throughout the years, as multiple agricultural terraces were observed,

particularly within the northwestern portion of the APE, and the pine and hardwoods within the

APE appear to be ten to fifteen years old.

This cultural resources survey was conducted in compliance with state and federal laws and

regulations concerning the management of historic properties (i.e., archaeological sites,

buildings, structures, objects, or districts listed on or eligible for the National Register of

Historic Places [NRHP]) that may be affected by ground disturbing activities associated with the

proposed improvements by Potemkin-Magita Group, Inc. at Sterling Heights. Compliance is

administered through the regulatory programs of the US Army Corps of Engineers (33 CFR Part

325) and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. These laws and regulations include:

Section 404 of the Clean Water Act of 1948 (33 USC 1344), as amended; Archaeological

Resources Protection Act (ARPA) of 1979 (93 Stat. 721, 16 USC 470aa-11) and the regulations

under (7932 CFR 229); and Section 106, 36 CFR Part 800, of the National Historic Preservation

Act of 1966 (16 USC 470), as amended.

There were no previously recorded archaeological sites within the current survey (APE), nor

were there any previously recorded extant historic structures within the APE. Archaeologists

identified two new archaeological sites, 9BI272 and 9BI273, within the physical/direct APE.

There were five previously unrecorded historic dwellings that have been identified as potentially

being within the visual/indirect APE.