New South Associates, Inc. completed a Phase I historical and archaeological survey of the Savannah-Ogeechee Canal (9CH688), Chatham County, Georgia, as part of a master plan to document the canal's significance as a natural and historical corridor, and to determine its potential recreational uses. This Phase I study included historical research, a literature review, and archaeological survey.
In addition to providing contexts for the project area and the S-0 Canal, historical research and literature review provided information necessary for assessing the archaeological potential of the study area. Based on this research, the study area was judged to have a moderate to low potential for prehistoric archaeological resources. Historic archaeological resources were expected only at locations where historic maps depicted structures or road crossings of the canal.
Archaeological fieldwork included visual reconnaissance and subsurface survey. The reconnaissance provided information about the accessibility and condition of the canal, located canal-related resources, and identified areas for subsurface survey. Subsurface survey entailed shovel testing at selected locations to locate buried resources and collect information on site size, chronology, function, and condition.
Based on the survey, the National Register of Historic Places-listed 5-0 Canal (CH688), exhibits good integrity as do Locks 3, 4, 5, and 6 and a brick aqueduct west of Lock 2. These features clearly convey their former functions and relationship. Also, western segments of the canal cross through relatively undeveloped areas that are suggestive of historic landscapes along the canal. The canal thus has a potential for recreational use, and historical and natural preservation. It is recommended that the master plan consider potential impacts to the canal as a result of such use and that steps (e.g., study and recordation) be taken to avoid or lessen any adverse effects.
The survey also recorded four archaeological sites, 9CH939, 9CH940, 9CH941, and 9CH942. Site 9CH939 appears to represent a nineteenth to twentieth century domestic occupation. Portions of this site inside the study area lack integrity and are not NRHP eligible. Site 9CH940 represents a site of historical activity and is recommended potentially NRHP eligible, but lies just outside the study corridor and thus no additional work is recommended for it at this time. Site 9CH941 contains the Lock 3 tender's house and possibly a brick-manufacturing site. This site is recommended potentially eligible for the NRHP under Criteria A and D, and additional evaluation of it is recommended. Finally, Site 9CH942 appears to reflect a nineteenth-century dike related to rice fields in the vicinity of Lock 3. The site is recommended potentially NRHP eligible under Criterion A and additional evaluation of it is recommended.
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