Historic Resources Survey of Five Parcels for the Creation of Kissingbower Park Rocky Creek Flood Risk Management 205 Study Augusta, Richmond County, Georgia

Commonwealth Heritage Group, Inc. (CHG) was sub-contracted by CDM Smith for the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District (Corps) to conduct a Historic Resources Survey (HRS) of five parcels designated for the creation of Kissingbower Recreational Park. The Corps is currently proposing to implement flood risk management measures with the construction of a detention area at Rosedale Dam and the acquisition of five parcels in the Kissingbower Road area that will be converted into a recreational park. Three of the five parcels retain single-family dwellings that are over 50 years of age, and two parcels are vacant of any permanent buildings. Defined as historic properties by their age, these cultural resources were documented and evaluated for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as part of an HRS. The HRS meets the standards detailed in Archeology and Historic Preservation, Secretary of Interior Standards and Guidelines 48 FR, Part 44716-42, Vol. 48, No. 190, September 29, 1983, as well as the Georgia State Historic Preservation Office (GA SHPO) survey guidelines.

The HRS included completing a field investigation of the five parcels inclusive of recordation of any permanent standing structures and digital photography, completing a literature review and archival research to develop a historic context in which to make recommendations of NRHP eligibility for the inventoried resources, and preparation of a technical report. Monthly reports and phone meetings were also part of the project’s tasks and deliverables.

Located in west Augusta, the enclave of five parcels is north of the intersection of Gordon Highway and Kissingbower Road. The immediate area is residential, with the five parcels buffered to the south by commercial properties facing Gordon Highway and Kissingbower Road. Single-family dwellings are located at 1956 and 1956-½ Kissingbower Road and 1957 Haynie Drive, while the parcels at 1958 and 1960 Kissingbower Road no longer retain residences. An open green space (owned by Georgia Power) is located on the east side of Haynie Drive that is accessed via the Kissingbower Road cut-through beginning at the Cherokee Plaza shopping center at 2625 Deans Bridge Road and Gordon Highway.

Field investigations and local research was completed October 11-20, 2021, by Stacey L. Griffin, Architectural Historian. Ms. Griffin conducted research via online searches before the site visit, as well as visiting the Augusta University-Reese Library Special Collections, the Augusta- Richmond County Public Library and Georgia Heritage Room, the Richmond County Tax Assessor’s Office, and reviewed project information provided by CDM Smith, the Richmond County Land Acquisition Office, and the Corps.

A search of Georgia’s Natural, Archeological, and Historic Resources Geophysical Information System (GNAHRGIS) database maintained by the Georgia State Historic Preservation Office GA SHPO and the University of Georgia (UGA) revealed the neighborhood had been surveyed in 1988 with several resources in the area quantified to meet NRHP eligibility under Criterion C for architecture. No formal district or individual NRHP nominations was submitted resultant from the survey. Of the five parcels, only 1957 Haynie Drive (built 1940, Site ID 55989) was surveyed in 1988 and determined as “appears to meet National Register criteria” as a good example of a common architectural type [Craftsman]. The building has since been altered with non-compatible 6/6 double-hung sash replacement windows and all facades modified by infilling the original larger window openings with misaligned siding to accommodate the new window openings. The resource no longer remains a good example of the Craftsman style of architecture.

The house at 1956 Kissingbower Road was not included in the 1988 survey. Built in 1936, the Craftsman-style home suffers the same fate as 1957 Haynie Drive. Replacement windows and doors, as well as complete loss of windows/doors, deem the resource as not a good representative of the Craftsman style.

1956-½ Kissingbower Road is a two-story, concrete block home with a full-width porch and flat roof with terra-cotta roof coping. Tax records state a built date of 1936, but the 2/2 aluminum windows typically indicate a later construction date or replacement of original windows. Other modifications include replacement doors, loss of door openings, and rear addition of concrete block and plywood exteriors.

Located at the southern end of the Engleside neighborhood annex, the five parcels are in an area suffering from loss of housing on two of the surveyed parcels and along both sides of the Kissingbower Road cut-through and west of Haynie Drive, and their adjacency to commercial properties dating 1920s-1950s. Upon completion of the survey and evaluation of the resources within the larger neighborhood setting and context, CHG does not recommend any of the resources as NRHP eligible under any criteria due to their alterations and loss of original setting.

Project deliverables include hard copies and electronic versions of the final report, and digital photographs in DNG-TIFF-and JPG formats with photo key and photo log submitted on DVDs.