The UTSA Boulevard Project: Archaeological Survey Along Leon Creek in Northwest San Antonio, Texas

A tract of land in northern San Antonio was briefly examined by the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR), The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). Several prehistoric archaeological sites had previously been recorded and test excavated within or near the property. Remnants of two of those sites (41 EX 47 and 41 EX 231) within the study area were rediscovered and subjected to limited subsurface testing. At 41 EX 231, what are apparently well-preserved prehistoric cultural deposits were identified. Thus, it is recommended that additional intensive excavations be performed prior to any future disturbances at that site, or that alteration of the site and immediate vicinity be avoided. Site 41 EX 47 was found to no longer be intact and no further work there is required. For various reasons, but most notably because heavy ground cover prevented a clear view of the surface, it is also recommended that all future activities on the property be archaeologically monitored

Archaeological Survey for Two Pipeline Crossings at Venado Creek, Jackson County, Texas

The Center for Archaeological Research at The University of Texas at San Antonio, investigated the cultural resource potential of two proposed pipeline crossings along Venado Creek in Jackson County, Texas, for Mobil Exploration & Producing U. S. Inc. Surface surveys and shovel tests were performed at both crossings during the investigation. No cultural materials were encountered within the proposed impact zones, which were observed to have been substantially disturbed in recent decades by natural and artificial activities. Thus, no further archaeological work is recommended prior to or during the pending construction

A Cultural Resources Survey for the Bell County WCID No. 3 Lift Station Project, Nolanville, Bell County, Texas

In December, 2013, and January, 2014, South Texas Archeological Research Services, LLC, conducted a cultural resources survey for the Bell County Water Control and Improvements District No. 3 Lift Station Project in Nolanville, Bell County, Texas. The survey focused on discovery, identification, and preliminary assessment of archeological resources. The area surveyed was about 250 m of utilities line right-of-way about 30 m wide and a circular lift station site about 40 m in diameter. It consisted of about two acres of land. Because the survey area was owned or controlled by a political subdivision of the State of Texas, compliance with the Antiquities Code of Texas was triggered for the project. Since there was no federal link for the project, the National Historic Preservation Act did not apply to it. The survey included search of relevant data in the Texas Historical Commission’s Texas Archeological Sites Atlas, pedestrian visual surface inspection, subsurface testing, and reporting. It was done under Texas Antiquities Permit 6736 and according to applicable professional standards and guidelines. Surface inspection and subsurface testing during fieldwork revealed that much of the project area was previously disturbed in recent times by human agency, and apparently was also disturbed by natural forces such as soil erosion, deflation, and flooding. No archeological evidence was found and no non-archeological cultural evidence that might have been eligible for landmark designation or that merited further investigation or documentation was seen either within or adjacent to the project area. Nothing was collected or curated. Considering the methods and results of the survey, the Principal Investigator believed that the project as planned at the time of the survey should not affect any cultural resources eligible for landmark designation and therefore should proceed without further state antiquities code compliance efforts. It was also recommended that, per applicable statutes and regulations, if any archeological evidence was discovered during construction all work in the vicinity should immediately be suspended pending examination of the finds by the Texas Historical Commission and/or a Commission-qualified archeological consultant

A Cultural Resources Survey for the City of Temple’s Prairie View Road Expansion Project, Bell County, Texas

In December, 2013, and January, 2014, South Texas Archeological Research Services, LLC, conducted a cultural resources survey for the City of Temple’s Prairie View Road Expansion Project, Bell County, Texas. The survey focused on discovery, identification, and preliminary assessment of archeological resources. The area surveyed was about 3,220 m of public road right-of-way about 30 m wide. It consisted of about 24 acres of land. Because the survey area was owned or controlled by the City, a political subdivision of the State of Texas, compliance with the Antiquities Code of Texas was triggered for the project. Since there was no federal link for the project, the National Historic Preservation Act did not apply to it. The survey included search of relevant data in the Texas Historical Commission’s Texas Archeological Sites Atlas, pedestrian visual surface inspection, subsurface testing, and reporting. It was done under Texas Antiquities Permit 6735 and according to applicable professional standards and guidelines. Surface inspection and subsurface testing during fieldwork revealed that much of the project area was previously disturbed in recent times by human agency, and apparently was also disturbed by natural forces such as soil erosion, deflation, and bioturbation. No archeological evidence was found and no non-archeological cultural evidence that might have been eligible for landmark designation or that merited further investigation or documentation was seen either within or adjacent to the project area. Nothing was collected or curated. Considering the methods and results of the survey, the Principal Investigator believed that the project as planned at the time of the survey should not affect any cultural resources eligible for landmark designation and therefore should proceed without further state antiquities code compliance efforts. It was also recommended that, per applicable statutes and regulations, if any archeological evidence was discovered during construction all work in the vicinity should immediately be suspended pending examination of the finds by the Texas Historical Commission and/or a Commission-qualified archeological consultant

Archival and Historical Research for the San Pedro Creek Channel Improvement Project: The 1989-1990 Investigations

The history, cultural resources, and archaeological potential of a portion of San Pedro Creek in the vicinity of the Five Points intersection in central San Antonio were investigated and evaluated. Archival sources were consulted, personal interviews conducted, and an on-site inspection of the area was made. Based on the archival research, the history of the area was divided into several distinct periods. Data from primary sources are summarized and cross-referenced in an appendix

The UTSA Boulevard Project: Archaeological Survey Along Leon Creek in Northwest San Antonio, Texas

A tract of land in northern San Antonio was briefly examined by the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR), The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). Several prehistoric archaeological sites had previously been recorded and test excavated within or near the property. Remnants of two of those sites (41 EX 47 and 41 EX 231) within the study area were rediscovered and subjected to limited subsurface testing. At 41 EX 231, what are apparently well-preserved prehistoric cultural deposits were identified. Thus, it is recommended that additional intensive excavations be performed prior to any future disturbances at that site, or that alteration of the site and immediate vicinity be avoided. Site 41 EX 47 was found to no longer be intact and no further work there is required. For various reasons, but most notably because heavy ground cover prevented a clear view of the surface, it is also recommended that all future activities on the property be archaeologically monitored

A Cultural Resources Survey for the Leon Valley Hike and Bike Trail Project, Bexar County, Texas

In early March, 2014, South Texas Archeological Research Services, LLC, conducted a cultural resources survey for the Leon Valley Hike and Bike Trail Project, Bexar County, Texas. The survey focused on discovery and preliminary assessment of archeological resources but also included an estimation of effect to the Huebner-Onion Homestead and Stage Coach Stop Site (41BX1429), which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Since the project area was owned by the City of Leon Valley and the project involved federal funding through the Texas Department of Transportation, compliance with the Antiquities Code of Texas and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act was triggered for the project. The survey was conducted according to applicable professional standards and guidelines under Texas Antiquities Permit 6803. Portions of the project area that were previously investigated were not included in the survey, and portions of the area were revised or omitted after completion of the survey. The project, as ultimately revised, consisted of replacement of existing trails, additions of new trails, and construction of concrete bridges at three creek crossings. Not including portions previously examined, the final revised footprint of the area of potential effects to cultural resources for the project was about 1.6 acres of trail rightof-way about 3,500 feet long and 20 feet wide. Except at the creek crossings, where some deeper cutting and filling would be needed, the average anticipated depth of impact for the project was about 6-12 inches. The area of potential effects for indirect effects to non-archeological cultural resources was the area within about 100 feet of the final proposed trail routes not previously surveyed. Background searches revealed that except for prehistoric archeological site 41BX1879, found near the project area in 2012 and later determined ineligible, and the Huebner-Onion Site, no cultural resources were within a kilometer radius of the survey area. Field conditions within most of the area surveyed precluded effective visual surface examination, but patchy surface exposures in the uplands and exposed profiles along Huebner Creek were inspected. Because of shallow soils within most of the area and access limitations, archeological backhoe trenching was neither feasible nor warranted. Sixteen archeological shovel tests were excavated throughout the survey area. Shallow clay soils over limestone or caliche bedrock, or dense clay substrate, were encountered in most of the tests. No archeological evidence was found during the survey and nothing was collected or curated. The Principal Investigator believed that construction of the proposed trail, as finally revised, should not affect any archeological resources. Based on the research and findings a consulting architectural historian and on all revisions to the project plans made to time of this report in June, 2014, the Principal Investigator and architectural historian believed that the project would have no adverse effect on the Huebner-Onion Site. A local historical icon within the survey area, the marker for the presumed gravesite of prominent nineteenth-century settler and stockman Joseph Huebner (1823-1882), was neither listed nor eligible as a landmark. In May, 2014, the segment of the proposed trail leading from the main east-west trail southward to the marker was omitted from the project by the City of Leon Valley, thereby obviating the need for further cultural resource investigations for that segment. Prior to omission, visual inspection and excavation of two archeological shovel tests within the footprint of the segment found no cultural evidence. It was recommended to the City of Leon Valley and its consultants, the Texas Historical Commission, and the Texas Department of Transportation that the project as revised should proceed without further archeological or other cultural resource compliance work, except in the event that cultural resources not found during the survey were found during project-related construction activities. Per applicable statutes and regulations, it was also recommended that in the event of such finds, work should immediately be halted in the vicinity until the finds were examined and evaluated by a qualified archeological consultant and/or the Commission and the Department

Archaeological Survey Of The Nolan Creek Improvements For The City Of Belton, Bell County, Texas

In September 2013, American Archaeology Group LLC conducted an archaeological survey of three tracts of land along Nolan Creek totaling 8.68 acres for the City of Belton’s planned low water dam removal and replacement dam installed, development of a parking lot and trail for kayakers, and removal of a low water bridge crossing. These improvements are being funded by a Texas Parks & Wildlife Department grant. The investigation consisted of a pedestrian survey supported with mechanical trenching. No archaeological sites were identified during the survey. American Archaeology Group LLC recommends that construction within the project area should be allowed to proceed as planned without archaeological monitoring. No artifacts were recovered; therefore, no curation was arranged

A Cultural Resources Survey for the Donna Independent School District’s Aquatic Center and Walking Trail Project, Donna, Hidalgo County, Texas

In late April, 2015, Archaeology Consultants, Inc., performed a cultural resources survey for the Donna Independent School District Aquatic Center and Walking Trail Project in Hidalgo County, Texas. About 6.65 acres was surveyed. The location of the project area within public school district property and within a region known to contain numerous archeological sites prompted the Texas Historical Commission to recommend the survey for compliance with the Antiquities Code of Texas. The Commission issued Texas Antiquities Permit 7163 for the survey. The survey included a search of the Commission’s Texas Archeological Sites Atlas for previous surveys and recorded archaeological sites in the vicinity, pedestrian surface examination, survey-level subsurface testing, and reporting. The background search revealed that apparently no archaeological resources were previously found or recorded within or adjacent to the project area. No cultural evidence, as defined in the Antiquities Code of Texas, was found during the survey, and nothing was collected or curated. The investigating archaeologists believed that the project as planned should not affect any cultural resources worthy of listing in the National Register of Historic Places or designation as State Antiquities Landmarks or Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks. Therefore Archaeology Consultants, Inc., recommended to the project sponsors and consultants, and to the Commission, that the project should proceed without further work for Antiquities Code of Texas compliance, except in the event of finds of cultural evidence during construction. It was further recommended that if any cultural evidence was found during project-related disturbances, per applicable antiquities statutes and regulations work should immediately be halted in the vicinity until such finds were examined and evaluated by Archaeology Consultants, Inc., by another qualified archaeological consultant, or by the Commission’s Archeology Division staff

Archaeological Monitoring Of The Histroric Gan\u27s Dam At Berry Creek Preserve For The Williamson County Parks Department, Williamson County Parks Department, Williamson County, Texas

Archaeological monitoring of repairs to the historic Gan’s Dam, previously recorded as one historic component of archaeological site (41WM17), was conducted October 2-12, 2013 at the Berry Springs Preserve in Williamson County, Texas. Previous storm damage caused the dam to fail and impounded pond waters pushed the surface portion of the historic dam downstream. Williamson County Parks Department contracted with a construction firm to make repairs to the dam. Consequently, AAG was contacted about the discovery of the subsurface old historic dam limestone blocks and this led to discussions with the Texas Historical Commission, Archeology Division, and with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), Fort Worth District. Subsequently, a Texas Antiquities Permit (6674) for monitoring was obtained and all work was also conducted under the auspices of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Construction resumed with AAG on-site to ensure that the remnant historic dam features were not disturbed. The remaining dam portions were encapsulated with cement to provide a strong retention dam and to provide for long-term preservation of the historic dame and any potential remaining cultural deposits. No artifacts or features were encountered during monitoring, therefore, only project records are curated at the Center for Archaeological Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio