Archaeological and Historical Investigation of the Ogeechee Road Bridge Over the Springfield Canals, City of Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia

This study reports on both documentary research and field survey associated with the replacement of the Ogeechee Road bridge over the Springfield Canal on the southwestern edge of the City of Savannah. This project is part of the Springfield Canal Drainage Improvements Project currently being planned by the City of Savannah. The project would replace the existing bridge, a small brick culvert, remove a nearby modern house, and create a grassed maintenance roadway adjacent to the canal. The work was conducted to assist Thomas and Hutton Engineering Company and the City of Savannah comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and the regulations codified in 36CFR800. The research included a historical overview of the Springfield Canal. The field investigations included limited shovel testing in the area where an existing house foundation is to be removed. The work was limited to the immediate bridge area.

The historical research reveals that Ogeechee Road was paved with shell until1909 when the shell was replaced with gravel. Through about 1920 the bridge was wood and the roadway remained graveled. The area, at the edge of Savannah, received little attention and there is, as a result, little documentation. The period from the 1920s through the late 1950s is one of even more limited municipal reports. We have been unable to determine when the brick culvert was constructed, but it seems to have been sometime between about 1920 and 1940. The culvert is a brick arch, about 13-inches thick, joined by 13-inc.h thick headwalls, laid in American bond. The culvert fill is soil on the sides and clay under the 7 -inch thick concrete roadway with a central expansion joint. More recently 11/2-inches of asphalt have been laid over the concrete deck. The south headwall has detached from the arch, likely a result of heavy loads causing foundation collapse. The City has temporarily shored the south side up using metal panels. While this is a type of structure not frequently encountered, it is not recommended eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, based on the Criteria for Historical Significance of Bridges, developed by the Historic Preservation Section, Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The archaeological investigations reveal that the structures northwest of the bridge, now demolished, left behind an assortment of twentieth century archaeological remains, including nais, window glass, coal, and brick rubble. While the quantities of remains are dense, the variety is very limited. Moreover, all of the identified materials appear to have been deposited within the past 40 to 50 years. Although these remains are very recent, they were assigned the archaeological site number 9CH907. They are not, however, recommended eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. Finally, it is possible that archaeological remains may be encountered in the corridor during construction. Construction crews should be advised to report any discoveries of concentrations of artifacts (such as bottles, ceramics, or projectile points) or brick rubble to the project engineer, who should in turn report the material to the State Historic Preservation Office or to Chicora Foundation (the process of dealing with late discoveries is discussed in 36CFR800.13(b)(3)). No construction should take place in the vicinity of these late discoveries until they have been examined by an archaeologist and, if necessary, have been processed according to 36CFR800.13(b)(3).