Phase I Archaeological Survey of the Blakely Gateway Tract

Between June 22 and 26, 2015, Brockington and Associates, Inc. (Brockington) conducted an intensive Phase I Archaeological Survey of the proposed Blakely Gateway Tract in Early County, Georgia (GDOT PI 0009036). This Phase I survey was conducted in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966 (as amended) and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation revised 36 CFR Part 800 Regulations by personnel qualified under 36 CFR Part 61. Survey investigations were carried out for the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) while under a contract with EMC Engineering Services, Inc. The project is funded by a Transportation Enhancement (TE) grant administered by GDOT and sponsored by the City of Blakely.

The Blakely Gateway Tract consists of 25.2 acres located east of the City of Blakely at the intersection of US Hwy 27 (Colquitt Highway) and GA Hwy 62 (Magnolia Street) and extends westward, including a 3,500 linear feet (lf) long by 5 lf wide segment along the north side of GA Hwy 62 leading into Blakely. The total area of the tract is approximately 27.6 acres. The proposed Blakely Gateway Project would involve pedestrian, transportation, and landscape enhancements to the project tract in the form of a visitor’s information center with entry drive and parking, walking trails, and an approximately 3,500 lf paved sidewalk which would serve to connect the visitor’s center to downtown Blakely. The project will also include landscaping, signage, and lighting.

The archaeological survey was conducted within the 25.2 acre visitor’s center site and along the 3,500 lf segment. The goal of the survey was to locate and evaluate archaeological sites within the archaeological Area of Potential Effect (APE) of the proposed undertaking, so that potential effects to any resources identified could be evaluated in accordance with Section 106 of the NHPA of 1966, as amended. For this project, the archaeological APE is defined as the 25.2 acre and 3,500 x 5 foot (ft) footprint. Per correspondence with Moreland Altobelli Associates on June 4, 2015, the archaeological examination of the Expanded Survey Corridor (ESC) was waived based on the nature of the project. The Phase I Archaeological Survey consisted of both background research and field survey. Back-ground research consisted of an examination of archaeological site forms for previously recorded sites, historic resource survey files, and reports for previous cultural resource investigations conducted in the vicinity of the project corridor. Background research identified no archaeological sites within the APE.

The field survey recorded one previously unrecorded archaeological site (9ER292) within the APE. Site 9ER292 consists of a late nineteenth-century to early twentieth-century artifact scatter located approximately 75 meters north of Magnolia Street and directly south of a stream running approximately east to west in the southern portion of the project tract. Site 9ER292 likely represents a historic refuse dump associated with a domestic structure in the vicinity. Due to the disturbed nature of the site and surrounding area, 9ER292 appears to have little research potential and it is unlikely that further investigation would yield significant archaeological information. Brockington recommends that 9ER292 is not eligible for the NRHP and no additional management considerations of this resource are warranted. Given that no NRHP-eligible archaeological resources will be impacted by the proposed undertaking, we also recommend clearance for archaeological resources.