Oglethorpe Power County Pumped Storage Facility Site Evaluations Prefeasibility Report: Historical/archaeological Resources

This is a report of the methods and results of a cultural resources survey conducted by Southeastern Archeological Services, Inc. (SAS), for Oglethorpe Power Corporation (OPC), detailing a reconnaissance level survey of the proposed Johnson Crook pumped storage hydroelectric facility. This survey is one of a number of environmental studies being conducted by OPC in preparation for licensing from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Three alternatives (Figure 1) are under consideration and each proposed facility consists of two reservoirs adjacent to each other, connected by a power tunnel. This report provides comparative data for engineers and planners to judge potential impacts on archeological sites at this alternative. A reconnaissance survey, such as this one, is designed to discover the range and variation of archeological sites and historic structures. It is not intended to find or evaluate every site; this will be done by an intensive survey and by test excavations, to be conducted when a preferred alternative is selected. Components of the pumped storage hydroelectric facility that were not surveyed include the power tunnel corridor, new road right-of-ways, construction staging areas, power house access, and transmission line right-of-ways. All of these components may impact cultural resources and future studies should consider them, in addition to the two proposed reservoirs. However, the concluding chapter includes a brief assessment of potential impacts to cultural resources along proposed transmission line and water pipeline routes. The survey was conducted at the reconnaissance level, focusing on the areas within each flood pool. Approximately 70% of the land to be inundated was surveyed archeologically. While the precise location and design of the proposed facility have not been finalized, the flood pool levels used for this study are 587 m for the upper reservoir and 284 m for the lower reservoir. The total area within the reservoirs is 251 ha. Fieldwork was conducted between April and July of 1986 at all three alternatives, primarily by field crews of four or six people working in two person teams. Archeological sites were discovered in the field by visual inspection and, where there was no surface visibility, by shovel testing. When sites were discovered, field site forms containing all of the data necessary for the Georgia Archeological Survey Site Form were completed, including sketch maps and photographs. Concurrently with the field work, archival research was conducted at the Special Collections of the University of Georgia Library, and the Georgia State Library. Materials at the Georgia Surveyor General Department were also examined. County histories were perused and a few local informants were interviewed. Old maps and data pertaining to early historic land use were of special interest. The Civil War and the Cherokee settlement were also foci of study. Artifacts were collected and brought to the SAS laboratory for analysis. A detailed lithic analysis for all prehistoric utilized stone was tailored to the specific material recovered on this project. Analysis of historic metal, glass, ceramics, and other historic artifactual material was also conducted. The few floral and faunal specimens collected were also analyzed. After the field work and laboratory analysis, evaluations were made of each site to determine eligibility for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. Sites are determined ineligible if there is little artifactual material, or if the site context is disturbed and has little or no integrity. For most sites, there was not sufficient information to determination eligibility. Therefore, the determination eligibility was considered unknown and further work is recommended. At this alternative, 40 archeological sites were recorded during this survey, three of which had been previously recorded. Two of the sites located by this survey are recommended eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Fourteen sites are recommended ineligible for the Register, and, for the remaining 24, further work is necessary before eligibility can be determined. of these, 20 sites are within the project impact area. Further work on these sites ranges from archival research to more shovel testing and/or test excavation units to recover more artifactual material and to further ascertain site size, components, and/or integrity.