Cultural Resources Survey of the Georgia Ports Authority's Ocean Terminal Paving Project

Brockington and Associates, Inc. (Brockington) conducted an intensive cultural resources survey of the Georgia Ports Authority's (GPA) Ocean Terminal Paving Project Tract in Chatham County, Georgia, October 28 -30, 2014. The 19.5-acre project tract is located north of Louisville Road, east of Lathrop Avenue and a railroad line owned by Norfolk Southern, west of US Highway 17, and south of the US Highway 17 cloverleaf, in the City of Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia. These investigations were carried out on behalf of CH2M Hill for the GPA in partial fulfillment of guidelines established by Section 404 of the .Clean Water Act, by personnel qualified under 36 CFR Part 61 . This survey was requested to comply 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]) affected by development activities. Compliance is administered through the regulatory programs of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Historic Preservation Division (HPD).

Cultural resource investigations at the GPA Ocean Terminal Paving Project include background research, archaeological survey, and historic resources survey. The entire 19.5-acre project tract, including wetlands, composes the archaeological Area of Potential Effects (APE). The historic resources APE includes the 19.5-acre project tract and its potential viewshed. The APE contains a variety of vegetation, including stands of mixed hardwood and pine forest, hardwood swamp, and thickets of primary vegetation.

Background research was conducted on Georgia's Natural, Archaeological, and Historic Resources GIS (GNARGHIS) online database and at the Chatham County Courthouse in Savannah. Previous investigations identified one NRHP-listed historic district (Savannah-Ogeechee Canal Historic District) and one historic district recommended eligible for the NRHP (Resource HP-2 [Dooley Avenue District]) within 0.5 kilometers (km) of the APE (Reynolds 2014). However, no direct or indirect effects are anticipated for these two historic properties by implementation of the proposed project.

 During the archaeological survey we spaced pedestrian transects 30 meters (m) apart, excavating shovel tests every 30 m. No shovel tests were excavated in wetlands. The historic resources survey covered the entire 19.5-acre APE and also its potential viewshed. Brockington identified two new archaeological sites (9CH1370 and 9CH1371) and four new historic resources (Resources 1-4). Sites 9CH1370 and 9CH1371 are diffuse, nineteenth-century artifact scatters and are recommended NRHP-ineligible. Resource 1 is a segment of the Central of Georgia Railroad mainline and is recommended NRHPeligible Resource 2 is an abandoned spur of the Central of Georgia Railroad and is recommended NRHP-eligible. Resource 3 is an extant Norfolk Southern railroad line, formerly belonging to the Central of Georgia Railroad, and is recommended NRHP-eligible. Resource 4 is a buried segment of the Springfield Canal and is recommended NRHP-ineligible. Sites 9CH1370 and 9CH1371 and Resource 4 require no additional management. Proposed ground-disturbing activities should be designed to avoid Resources 1-3. If ground-disturbing activities cannot be avoided then an appropriate mitigation strategy should be developed by the landowners in consultation with the HPD.