Edwards-Pitman Environmental, Inc. (EPEI) has completed fieldwork for the Seventh Addendum Phase I archaeological survey for the proposed widening and road improvements for State Route (SR) 61/Villa Rica Highway (Hwy) in Paulding County, Georgia for the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) in compliance with the Georgia Environmental Policy Act (GEPA). EPEI was contracted by RS&H to locate and evaluate archaeological resources within the area of potential effect (APE) of the proposed undertaking. EPEI’s involvement in this project follows multiple previous surveys conducted by GDOT (Duff 1995; Lotti 2007a, 2007b; Lotti et al. 2013; Richardson 1993, 1997), and was required when updated project limits exceeded those of GDOT’s 2013 survey. This prior survey completed by GDOT was performed under previous Project (NH-018-1[59] and BRN-NH-018-1[60]) and P.I. numbers (621570 and 641830); these numbers have been superceded by the current P.I. No. 0013702. EPEI conducted addendum archaeologiclal survey and systematic metal detecting between April 20-25, 2017, July 6-18, 2017, and February 14, 2018. Systematic subsurface probimg in two areas of APE adjacent to existing cemeteries and limited addendum shovel testing was completed in December of 2018. This report is a descriptive analysis of the archaeological resources encountered during EPEI’s survey of the additional proposed widening, improvements, and drainage and sewer system infrastructure survey areas. All identified archaeological sites were evaluated for their National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility. The proposed undertaking includes widening, reconstruction, and associated improvements to SR 61, extending 6,598 meters (4.1 miles) along SR 61 starting 2,190 feet (.41 miles) southwest of County Road (CR) 467/Dallas Nebo Road, crosses SR 120 Connector/Hiram Sudie Road, and ending 197 feet (.03 miles) north of Thomas B. Murphy Drive, which is north of the heavily developed intersection of SR 61 with United States (US) 278/SR 6/SR 120/Jimmy Campbell Parkway. The width of the current APE is approximately 150 meters (.09 miles) on average for a total coverage of 2,516 acres. The widening and reconstruction of SR 61 is needed to provide additional capacity required for future growth in the area. SR 61 is the only continuous north-south corridor in Paulding County linking Dallas to both Cartersville (north) and I-20 (south). This addendum survey, metal detecting, and probing was completed as a consequence of recent design changes resulting from a need for additional drainage infrastructure to the project design. Sand filters and sediment basins were added along both sides of SR 61 to abide by the GDOT’s new Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permit and meet water quality levels for the Etowah River basin. The MS4 Permit regulates new and existing point source discharges of stormwater from roadways owned and operated by GDOT to waters of the State of Georgia. This permit includes incorporating permanent water quality control and detention measures (best management practices [BMPs]) into the design where appropriate for discharges from MS4 designated areas. Required right-of-way (ROW) and easements were modified to accommodate the addition of sediment basins and the alteration of drainage design. The APE was defined as all existing and required ROW, as well as easements, within the project limits, as currently designed. The additional areas surveyed by EPEI and documented in this report are refered to as addendum APE, or addendum survey areas. Presently, existing ROW varies between 50 and 200 feet (15 and 61 meters), and the proposed ROW varies between 50 and 350 feet (15 and 107 meters). As this project predated the establishment of an expanded survey corridor (ESC), only the APE was investigated. EPEI’s survey of SR 61 in the vicinity of the Battle of Dallas resulted in efforts to record the battlefield as site 9PA587 and the development of a battlefield site boundary based on historical and archaeological evidence that could be refined as additional data is collected in future investigations. One Civil War locus associated with the Battle of Dallas, site 9PA587 Locus A, was identified within the addendum APE, as well as six artifact occurrences associated with the Battle of Dallas, three previously unidentified sites (9PA588, 9PA589, and 9PA590), and one isolated historic artifact. EPEI’s investigation within the proposed 9PA587 Dallas Battlefield site boundary identified one small cluster of Civil War artifacts in the vicinity of the historic location of a Confederate line recorded by the American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP). This locus was recorded as Locus A of site 9PA587. Investigation of this battlefield locus revealed a heavily eroded, shallow soil profile, a mix of modern trash items with the Civil War artifacts, and no evidence of an earthwork or trace within the addendum APE. The presence of extensive areas of clay subsoil on the surface and soil profiles with very thin or non-existent topsoil all serve as evidence of past ground-disturbing activity. Given the very high levels of past disturbance resulting in compromised subsurface integrity, coupled with the apparent destruction of associated Confederate defensive works, Locus A no longer retains the ability to yield significant archaeological data and lacks research potential. Consequently, this locus does not have significant data potential or integrity under Criterion D and no additional investigation is warranted. Site 9PA587/Battle of Dallas battlefield, is associated with significant people and events in American history, and the proposed boundary includes 9PA121, 9PA122, and 9PA482, which are all Civil War sites associated with the Battle of Dallas and that have all been recommended eligible for listing to the NRHP; all these sites convey significance to the battlefield due to the retention of integrity (i.e., intact earthworks and other fortifications) and to their research potential. Based on findings of both the current project and previous studies, 9PA587 is recommended eligible for the NRHP under Criteria A and D, having Local, State, and National significance. Sites 9PA588 and 9PA589 are both small historic artifact scatters located in shallow, eroded soils. These sites could not be fully delineated within the current APE. The investigated portions within the addendum APE lack data potential and depositional integrity due to poor soil preservation under Criterion D. However, because these sites could not be fully delineated within the addendum APE, eligibility for NRHP inclusion under Criterion D remains unknown. Site 9PA590 represents the remains of a historic house site with various structural features and a meager assemblage of artifacts. Results from Phase I survey indicated poor subsurface preservation and a scant subsurface distribution of artifacts. Based on aerial photography and the range of building materials used in the structural remnants, the site appears to date to the late nineteenth through middle twentieth century. Given the lack of temporal clarity and general lack of data potential based on the sparse artifact assemblage and poor soil preservation, the site is recommended ineligible for NRHP inclusion under Criterion D. Two historic cemeteries, 9PA592/Bethany Christian Church Cemetery and 9PA593/Mt. Zion Cemetery, lie immediately adjacent to the current APE. Two very small areas of 9PA593/Mt. Zion Cemetery overlap with proposed APE, but systematic probing and visual inspection did not reveal evidence of unmarked burials in either of those areas. Both cemeteries were evaluated under Criteria A and C by GDOT historians in 2006 (Southall 2006, White 2004) and found to be ineligible. The historians found no basis for which to evaluate these cemeteries under Criterion B. Both are recommended here as of unknown eligibility under Criterion D. Both cemeteries were subjected to systematic probing in areas where the APE abuts cemetery property in order to determine whether-or-not unmarked graves are present that would be disturbed by proposed improvements to SR 61. No unmarked graves or other anomalies were detected by EPEI archaeologists at either cemetery.
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