A Phase I Archaeological Survey of a 6.6-Mile Section of SR 60 (Thompson Bridge Road), Hall County, Georgia

New South Associates, Inc. conducted a Phase I Archaeological Survey of the proposed State Route 60 (SR 60) widening and realignment in Hall County in response to a request by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT). SR 60 is also known as Thompson Bridge Road. The project began at the intersection of SR 60 and SR 136 (Price Road) and continued northward to points immediately south of the intersection of SR 60 and Walden/Stowers Road. The project will widen the existing two-lane facility to a four-lane, median divided facility with curbs, gutter, and sidewalks. Additionally, the project area included proposed improvements of intersections between SR 60 and Tomacheche Road, Twin Oaks Lane, Kanady Road, Old Dahlonega Highway, and Yellow Creek Road. An Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) permit was obtained from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USCOE) to test areas associated with the Squirrel Creek causeway that are on federally managed property. The entire length of the project area was estimated to be 6.6 miles. Background research identified eight previously recorded sites within a one-kilometer radius of the project area. These included 9HL231, 9HL232, 9HL236, 9HL237, 9HL238, 9HL524, 9HL525, and 9HL526. All of these sites were identified as prehistoric deposits. None of the sites fell within the current project area, and none of these previously recorded sites were recommended as eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Three sites and seven isolated finds were identified during this survey; none of these are on federally managed property. These included historic period assemblages at 9HL584, 9HL585, IF 1, IF 2, IF 3, IF 5, IF 6, and IF 7. Prehistoric deposits included 9HL583 and IF 4. These sites and IFs, with the exception of 9HL584, are recommended not eligible for the NRHP. Site 9HL584's eligibility is unknown. The Murrayville Congregational Holiness Church Cemetery is adjacent to the SR 60 right-of-way (ROW). Tax records indicate that the church owns the cemetery, but deeds supporting this have not been found. Marked graves do not intrude into the existing ROW but are present within the expanded survey corridor (ESC). Probing revealed two unmarked graves within the marked cemetery's margin, but compacted soil conditions hampered confirming their presence or absence outside the margin. While no further work is recommended for the rest of the SR 60 project area, New South Associates, Inc. recommends that a geophysical survey be conducted of the cemetery's western margin to determine the presence or absence of unmarked burials in the Area of Potential Effect (APE).