Archaeological Remote-Sensing Survey of the Harry S. Truman Parkway Bridge Corridor and Adjacent Waterways on the Vernon River, Chatham County, Georgia

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GADOT) plans to construct a bridge in Chatham County over the Vernon River north of Vernonburg. To ensure that the proposed project will not impact submerged cultural resources in or near the bridge construction corridor, GADOT issued a task order for a remote-sensing and low water visual survey to Post, Buckley, Schuh & Jernigan (PBS&J) of Atlanta, Georgia. The task order also included provisions for surveying additional sections of the Vernon River near White Bluff and Beaulieu to locate the wreck of the Civil War steamer CSS Water Witch. The survey was carried out by personnel from Tidewater Atlantic Research of Washington, North Carolina under terms of an agreement with PBS&J. Survey methodology was designed to meet the survey criteria of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Historic Preservation Division and comply with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, through 1992 (36 CFR 800, Protection of Historic Properties) and the Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987 (Abandoned Shipwreck Act Guidelines, National Park Service, Federal Register, Vol. 55, No. 3, December 4, 1990, pages 50116-50145), the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (Public Law 11190), Executive Order 11593, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Procedures for the protection of historic and cultural properties (36 CFR Part 800), and the updated guidelines described in 36 CFR 64 and CFR 66. Analysis of the remote-sensing data confirmed that all of the anomalies in the vicinity of the proposed bridge construction corridor have signature characteristics associated with small single objects such as crab traps, small sections of pipe or chain, small boat anchors and similar debris. Most of the material generating those signatures was visible at low water. No additional investigation of the bridge corridor is recommended. The Water Witch investigation identified targets in both the primary survey area at Vernonburg and the secondary area near Montgomery and Beaulieu. The geographical position of the most promising target corresponds almost exactly with the location of the "Wreck of Waterwitch" identified on an 1865 coast survey chart. Probing at the site confirmed deeply buried structure and machinery. Additional targets in the Vernonburg and Montgomery/Beaulieu areas could be generated by National Register of Historic Places eligible submerged cultural resources. As time and resources permit, those targets should be slated for identification and assessment by the Underwater Archaeology Section of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.