An archeological survey of the proposed Savannah Harbor widening project area at Hutchinson Island, Chatham County, Georgia, was conducted between 27 March and 1 April 1984. The survey area included approximately 4.4 miles along the southern shoreline of Hutchinson Island between channel stations 70+000 and 97+000. Survey methods consisted of a low tide pedestrian survey of the shoreline and backhoe testing of a portion of the former Fig Island channel, which had been documented as containing a number of buried nineteenth century vessels. Fifteen archeological sites were recorded. Two of these were associated with the circa 1900 period Seaboard Air Line Railway Terminal on Hutchinson Island. The remaining sites consisted of wharves, docks, piers, jetties and wing dams associated with Savannah Harbor and buried vessels. Sites were found to generally date to the latter portion of the nineteenth century and the first part of the twentieth century. Two sites, 9Ch(SAS)1 and 9Ch(SAS)9, were considered eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Recommendations were made for further investigations of these two sites in the event that preservation was not practical. Recommendations were also made for monitoring of the remainder of the survey area during construction in the event that deeply buried and unknown sites were present.
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