Phase I Cultural Resources Survey, Two Proposed Stream Crossings, Harrison Poultry Tract, Taliaferro County, Georgia

On December 6, 2018, R.S. Webb & Associates conducted a cultural resources literature review and a Phase I cultural resources survey of areas surrounding two proposed stream crossings within the Harrison Poultry tract in Taliaferro County, Georgia. Per email correspondence dated November 30, 2018, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District (USACE) originally requested that a Phase I cultural resources survey be conducted for the entire project parent tract due to Clean Water Act permitting, and in compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). After further analysis of the project scope by the USACE, the project areas of direct and indirect effects (APE) were refined down to two overlapping 100-meter (m)-radius areas around each stream crossing site (email correspondence dated December 4, 2018). In total, these two areas constitute the project area and cover approximately 9.1 hectares (22.6 acres). Under the NHPA, a cultural resources survey is conducted to determine if archeological and/or historical resources eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) will be affected by a proposed project. When found cultural resources within a project area are assessed for significance using the NRHP eligibility criteria set forth in 36 CFR Part 60.4. The current cultural resources survey was conducted following guidelines set by the Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologists (2014) and the U.S. Secretary of the Interior (Federal Register 1983). Literature and Records Search: Official files and maps of the Georgia Archaeological Site File, University of Georgia in Athens were examined, followed by a review of the pertinent site forms and the Laboratory of Archaeology manuscript/report files. At the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Historic Preservation Division (HPD) (Stockbridge), pertinent compliance document files, official maps, and NRHP files were reviewed, as well as the Taliaferro County historic structures survey records. Georgia’s Natural, Archaeological, and Historic Resources Geographical Information System (GNAHRGIS) was used to confirm the presence or absence of relevant state-recognized cultural resources in Taliaferro County. Historic maps were examined at various online sources. The Official Military Atlas of the Civil War (Davis et al.1983) was consulted for the locations of Civil War-era military actions or associated features. Historic aerial photographs were accessed and examined through the Digital Library of Georgia and historicaerials.com. Field Surveys: The project APEs for direct impacts were systematically surveyed for archeological resources. This survey employed surface and subsurface techniques along survey transects. Exposed surfaces within the project area were inspected for artifacts and surface features. Subsurface techniques included the excavation of 30-centimeter-diameter screened shovel tests to sterile subsoil. Shovel test profiles were inspected and soil data recorded. Shovel tests were not excavated in areas that have been severely disturbed, on slopes greater than 15 percent, or in drainageways. In other areas, survey shovel tests were excavated at 30-m intervals along transects spaced 30 m apart. Occasionally, shovel test intervals were decreased or advanced off-transect to sample diminutive landforms well suited for human use. The historic resources field survey was designed to identify possible historic structures and other built historic features within the APEs for direct and indirect impacts, and in the immediate viewshed beyond each APE. This survey included a pedestrian inspection of the two survey areas and areas visible from the APE boundaries. No historic resources were observed so no resource evaluations were necessary. Literature Review: No recorded cultural resources are located within the 9.1-hectare project area. GNAHRGIS and HPD records indicate that there are two NRHP-listed historic properties located within 1.6 km of the project parent tract. The A.H. Stephens NRHP Historic District and the Crawfordville Historic District both border the parent tract along Lexington Road/State Route 22. There are seven archeological sites recorded within 1.6 km of the parent tract. The closest of these, 9TL18, a low density historic artifact and prehistoric lithic debitage scatter, is located approximately 260 m to the east in the A.H. Stephens State Park. There are 12 recorded historic resources within 1.6 km of the project parent tract. The closest recorded historic resource is Resource No. 168, a late 19th-century Victorian Cottage, located approximately 200 m east of the parent tract on the north side of Melears Bridge Road. Review of the 1906 1:125,000 Crawfordville, GA topographic map shows that the Water Tank Road along the southern boundary of the tract and Lexington Road along the east boundary were in place by at least the early 20th century. One extant structure that meets the 50 year minimum age requirement for NRHP eligibility evaluation is located within the boundaries of the parent tract; however, this resource is approximately 380 m southwest of the 9.1-hectare project area. Cultural Resources Field Survey: No archeological or historic resources were identified during the Phase I cultural resources field survey of the 9.1-hectare project area. The proposed project will have no effect on NRHP-eligible archeological resources or historical resources, as none were identified within the 9.1-hectare project area. Since the construction within the 9.1-hectare project area will not affect properties eligible for or listed in the NRHP, no additional cultural resources work is recommended for this project.