Phase I Intensive Cultural Resources Survey of the Georgia International Rail Park North Tracts Effingham County, Georgia

Between July 23 and August 17, 2018, Brockington and Associates, Inc. (Brockington) completed a Phase I cultural resources survey of the Georgia International Rail Park North Tracts located in Rincon, Georgia, within Effingham County. The investigation consisted of an archaeological and architectural survey of the 504-acre project tract, as well as an architectural survey of the adjacent 1,100-acre Heritage Project Tract that had been previously surveyed for archaeological resources (D’Angelo 2003); this previous archaeological survey did not identify any archaeological sites. The current cultural resources investigation was carried out for the Georgia International Rail Park in partial fulfilment of guidelines established for Section 404 of the Clean Water Act permit. These investigations follow standards and guidelines that are in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966 (as amended). The cultural resources survey includes both an archaeological and a historic architectural survey component. Our field investigations identified one archaeological site (9EF308) and eight architectural resources (Resources 1 through 8). Site 9EF308 is a mid-twentieth-century artifact scatter located in the northern parcel of the 504-acre project tract. All architectural resources are located outside of the project tract and the adjacent Heritage Project Tract but within the tracts’ viewsheds along Georgia Highway 21. These architectural properties include five houses, one former commercial property with a residence, one church, and one cemetery. All the historic resource buildings recorded during this survey were constructed between 1955 and 1968, and the cemetery contains graves dating from 1930 to 2017. We recommend Resource 4, a commercial building with associated residence, eligible for the NRHP. We recommend that once project plans are finalized, that an Assessment of Effects (AOE) be prepared for Resource 4 and submitted to the Georgia State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). In addition, we recommend archaeological Site 9EF308 and the other seven historic resources (Resources 1 through 3 and 5 through 8) not eligible for the NRHP. No further cultural resource management considerations are warranted for six of these seven resources that are recommended not eligible for the NRHP. Resource 8 (the Dennis Felder Memorial Cemetery), which borders the project tract, is recommended to be avoided from any direct physical impacts and disturbances associated with the proposed project despite being recommended not eligible for the NRHP. In addition, since the southern property line of the cemetery is not fenced, we recommend that a 25-foot protective buffer from the boundary be in place that is free from any earth disturbing activities.