An Archaeological Survey of the Proposed Mitigation Bank Property Locations, Whitfield County, Georgia

During the week of June 7- 11, Southern Research conducted an intensive archaeological survey of the proposed Mitigation Bank Property Locations near Tilton in Whitfield County, Georgia under contract with the Dalton-Whitfield Regional Solid Waste Managment Authority (DWRSWMA). The project area, which is comprised of three distinct tracts, is located south of Dalton, east of I-75, and west of the Conasauga River just south of Tilton (Figure 1). The northern tract is known as Tilton Field and is labeled Area A on Figure 1. The two southern tracts are contained in the Elrod Tract; the larger, western most tract is labeled Area B and the smaller, eastern most tract is labeled Area C on Figure 1. Area A consists of approximately 16 acres, Area B is comprised of approximately seven acres, while Area C measures approximately .6 acres. A small manmade pond is adjacent to Area B (DWRSWMA areas 3M and 3N). This pond will be drained as part of the proposed activities; however, since it is currently filled with water, we were unable to conduct archaeological survey of the area. Furthermore, any archaeological remains which may have been located within the limits of the pond were certainly destroyed during its construction. Areas A, B, and C constitute the Area of Potential Effect (APE) for this project. In a letter dated April 30, 2004 the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Historic Preservation Division, recommended a phase I archaeological study of "areas where ground disturbing activity will take place" (e.g., wetland restoration areas and channel restoration areas). Although DWRSWMA owns more land surrounding and adjacent to the project area, ground disturbing activities are limited to: Tilton Field, Area A, containing DWRSWMA's areas 2J and 2K, which will have stream channel and riparian buffer restoration and DWRSWMA area 2G, which will have wetland restoration; and the Elrod Tract, Areas Band C (DWRSWMA areas 3C, 3H, and 3D), which will have wetland restoration (3C), wetland enhancement (3D) and riparian buffer restoration (3H). The man-made pond will also be subject to ground disturbing activity; however, as stated above, there is no potential for archaeological remains and it was not surveyed because it is filled with water. The purpose of the investigation was to identify archaeological and historical resources within the project area and to evaluate the eligibility of the identified resources for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). Under direction of Principal Investigator and Field Director Scot Keith, one isolated find was recorded.