Cultural Resources Literature Review and Reconnaissance Sibley - Plum Creek GRAD Tract Baldwin County, Georgia

Between January 1 and 12, 2016 Brockington and Associates, Inc. (Brockington) conducted a Cultural Resources Literature Review and Reconnaissance o f a proposed 1,643-acre (665-hectare [ha]) development tract in Baldwin County. Georgia. Figures I and 2 provide the project location. This investigation was conducted as part of a Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development (GRAD) site program application. Our archival research and reconnaissance assessment results in recovery of information useful for planning purposes only, and is not meant as compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) or other state and federal legislation. The reconnaissance was performed to determine if cultural resources are located within the project Area of Potential Effects (APE) for the proposed development. Brockington performed the tasks for this work while under contract with Thomas & Hutton.

The project tract is bound by the Norfolk Southern Railroad line and US 441 Bypass to the east, woods to the southwest, woods and residences to the northwest, and Allen Memorial Drive to the northeast. Several unnamed tributaries of Camp Creek are located within the project tract. The majority of the project tract is wooded and contains a mix of planted pine trees, hardwoods, and wild grasses. Approximately ten percent of the landscape is pasture. The lowland areas in the project tract consist of moderate to small mixed hardwoods. Observed disturbances within the project tract include one artificial lake, one artificial pond, a modem residence, and several dirt roads. Figures 3 to 10 show typical views of the project tract.

The Cultural Resources Reconnaissance consisted of archival research and limited field investigations. Archival research focused on documenting previously recorded archaeological and architectural resources within the project APE. Research was conducted at the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Historic Preservation Division (HPD) in Atlanta and the Georgia Archaeological Site File (GASF) in Athens.

At the HPD, the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) fi les and Baldwin County survey file were reviewed to determine if any NRHP eligible, nominated, or listed resources are within the project APE. At the GASF, county files were reviewed to determine if any previously recorded archaeological sites are located within the project APE. In addition, survey reports associated with previous archaeological investigations near the project area were reviewed. The Georgia Natural, Archaeological, and Historic Resources (GNAHRGIS) database was also reviewed to determine if any previously recorded archaeological sites are located within the project APE.

Archival research revealed there are no previously recorded archaeological sites located within the project tract. However, one previously recorded archaeological site is located within one mile of the project tract. Site 9BL9 is located approximately 500 m to the north of the project tract's northern boundary. This site is a prehistoric Woodland artifact scatter identified during an unidentified surface reconnaissance survey (GASF n.d.), and was not further evaluated. This previously recorded archaeological site is not located within an area of direct or indirect impact for the proposed project. Therefore, no previously recorded archaeological sites will be impacted by future development on the project tract. It is likely that the low density of archaeological resources in the vicinity is due to a low number of archaeological investigations in the area. Table 1 briefly summarizes the nearby previously recorded archaeological resource. Figure II shows the location of the previously recorded site near the project tract.