Phase I Cultural Resources Survey of the 650 Acre Camak Prospect Tract

During January and February 2006, Brockington and Associates, Inc., conducted an intensive Phase I cultural resources survey of approximately 650 acres proposed for mining at the Camak Prospect Tract in Warren County, Georgia. The project Area of Potential Effect (APE) consists of the length and width of the project tract. The APE was investigated for the presence of historic properties (sites, buildings, objects, or districts listed on or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places [NRHP]). This investigation was conducted for Sligh Environmental Consultants, Inc., of Savannah, Georgia, to determine the project's effect on archaeological and architectural resources and in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, as amended through 1992 (16 U.S.C. 470). This investigation also was in compliance with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. This investigation consisted ofbackground research and intensive field survey. Background research was conducted on NAHRGIS (Natural, Archaeological, and Historic Resources Geographic Information Systems), an online database operated by the Georgia Archaeological Site Files at the University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia. Architectural resources background research also was conducted using NAHRGIS and included a visit to the Georgia Historic Preservation Division to determine if previously listed or eligible NRHP properties were located within 0.8 km (0.5 mi) of the project area. Architectural resources survey consisted of vehicular and pedestrian reconnaissance of the project area and its surrounding viewshed to identify any properties exceeding 50 years in age that might be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Research conducted at the Georgia Historic Preservation Division determined no NRHP previously listed properties were within 0.8 km (0.5 mi) of the project tract. Archaeological field survey consisted of systematic shovel testing and pedestrian walkover throughout the APE. Shovel tests were excavated at 30-meter (1 00-foot) intervals along transects spaced 30 meters (1 00 feet) apart throughout the APE. Nine archaeological sites (9WR44-9WR52) and three isolated finds (Isolates 1-3) were identified during this investigation. In May 2007, we conducted Phase II testing of one of these sites (9WR52). We recommend sites 9WR44-9WR47 and 9WR49-9WR52 and Isolates 1-3 not eligible for the NRHP. We recommend the hydroelectric dam site 9WR48 potentially eligible for the NRHP. However, only a small portion of this site is within the project APE, and this portion of the site does not contribute to its NRHP eligibility. Therefore, no further management of 9WR48 is warranted for the purposes of the proposed mining at Camak Prospect Tract. No architectural resources were identified within the project APE. Two previously recorded archaeological sites (9WR42 and 9WR43) are located within the project tract. These are abandoned, historic (nineteenth-century) Hill and Tucker cemeteries. Archaeologists revisited these sites to assess their condition. While no shovel testing or probing was conducted at sites 9WR42 and 9WR43 during this project, archaeologists visually surveyed the sites and took color photographs of each. We recommend sites 9WR42 and 9WR43 not eligible for the NRHP. However, they are protected under state and county laws, and these sites should be avoided by proposed mining activities. Potential damage to historic cemetery sites 9WR42 and 9WR43 can be avoided through the maintenance of a 50-foot buffer beyond the blue painted tree line.