Cultural Resources Investigation Of The Green Valley Special Utility Distinct Weil Road Fill Line Project, Guadalupe County, Texas

At the request of Trihydro Corporation, SWCA conducted a cultural resources investigation of the 3.2-mile (5.1 kilometer [km]) Green Valley Special Utility District (GVSUD) Weil Road Fill Line Project area (Project) located in the extra-territorial jurisdictions of the Cities of Santa Clara and Cibolo, Guadalupe County, Texas. The Project alignment traverses privately owned land and existing roadways between the Canyon Regional Water Authority (CRWA) Wagner Booster Pump Station at 1084 West FM 78 in Cibolo, and the GVSUD Booster Pump Station at Weil Road in Marion. The southern terminus of the Project alignment is located approximately 2.5 miles (4.02 km) west of Cibolo and approximately 2.75 miles (4.43 km) east of Marion. Due to the receipt of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) of Texas federal funding, the Project must comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and its implementing regulations (36 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] 800). Additionally, the Project involves political subdivisions of the State of Texas (CRWA and GVSUD) and the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT) applies as the Project’s activities will involve more than 5 acres / 5,000 cubic yards of land disturbance, or potentially affect known archaeological sites. Investigations included a background and historic map review, and an intensive pedestrian survey with shovel testing within the Project alignment. The background literature review determined one previously conducted cultural resources investigation intersects the Project area near its southern terminus, site 41GU64, a prehistoric lithic quarry that SWCA revisited during the investigation. The site was recorded in 2000 by a Texas Historical Commission (THC) archaeological steward and the assemblage was reported to comprise burned rock, tested chert cobbles, bifaces, hand axes, and polyhedral cores. The SWCA revisit of site 41GU64 within the Project area found it consists of a very low frequency of prehistoric lithic artifacts. Shovel tests encountered no subsurface cultural materials and no cultural features or temporally diagnostics were encountered on the ground surface within this portion of the site. Due to the paucity of cultural materials, lack of temporally diagnostic artifacts or features, and lack of buried cultural materials SWCA assesses the portion of site 41GU64 within the Project area as not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) or designation as a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL). Newly recorded site 41GU199 is a low-density, mid-twentieth-century, historic-age site comprised of an Aermotor windmill, pump shed, cement-capped well, and a historic-age artifact scatter constrained to the ground surface within a drainage. All aboveground features are located outside of the Project area and will not be impacted by Project construction activities. Overall, the observed artifacts are confined to the surface, have likely been displaced from their original context, and represent common trash and debris. The windmill and pump shed are common elements on the mid-twentieth-century landscape, do not possess significant architectural value, and cannot be associated with significant themes in American history. The windmill, pump shed, and well are located outside the Project construction area. Additionally, the site archaeological component lacks integrity, as the artifacts (N= 7) are solely within a disturbed context (drainage channel). Based on these factors the overall research potential of 41GU199 is low. As such, the portion of the site within the Project area is assessed not eligible for the NRHP and no further work is recommended. SWCA also identified one historic-age isolated artifact find during pedestrian survey of the Project area. IF01 consists of the solarized base of a mid-twentieth-century Ball brand jar found on the ground surface. This cultural resource does not meet the criteria for designation as an archaeological site and no further work is warranted. In accordance with 33 CFR 800.4, SWCA has made a reasonable and good faith effort to identify cultural resources properties within the Project area. No properties were identified that may meet the criteria for listing in the NRHP according to 36 CFR 60.4, or for designation as an SAL according to 13 Texas Administrative Code 26.10. SWCA requests THC concur with a determination of No Historic Properties Affected for the undertaking and that no additional cultural resources investigations are warranted within the Project area, as currently defined

Cultural Resources Report For The Mission Road Archaeological Scraping Project, Bexar County, Texas

The City of San Antonio (COSA) Public Works Department retained Pape-Dawson Engineers, Inc. to conduct cultural resource investigations for proposed road improvements along Mission Road and Acequia Road (i.e., the Project) within San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. The Project consists of the installation of brick pavers and continuous illumination assemblies, electrical service, and underground infrastructure along both sides of Mission Road from SE Military Drive to the San Antonio River and along Acequia Road from Mission Road to Ashley Road. The added alternate to the Project includes the construction of a shared-use path along the east side of Mission Road from SE Military Drive through Stinson Airport, sidewalk along both sides of Mission Road from Cadmus Street (99th Street) to Acequia Road, sidewalk along the east side of Mission Road from Acequia Road to the San Antonio River, and sidewalk along the west side of Acequia Road from Mission Road to Ashley Road. A culvert system located mid-block along Mission Road will be removed, widened and extended, and replaced within the existing right-ofway (ROW). Existing underground utilities (water and sewer) will require surface adjustments to meter boxes, valve boxes, and manholes. One sewer cleanout may require both horizontal and vertical adjustments due to movement over time. As a result of the proposed improvements described above, modifications to surface drainage ditches and driveways will be required to maintain proper movement of surface runoff. As the Project is located within the COSA city limits and River Improvement Overlay District 6, the Project requires compliance with local regulations. At the municipal level, the Project must comply with Article 6, Historic Preservation and Urban Design, of the Unified Development Code (§ 35-630 to 35-634) as implemented by the COSA Office of Historic Preservation (COSA OHP). In addition, the proposed Project is within ROW owned by the City, a political subdivision of the state of Texas, which requires compliance with the Antiquities Code of Texas as implemented by the Texas Historical Commission (THC). No federal permitting or funding is anticipated for the Project; therefore, compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act is not necessary. Should any human remains and/or an abandoned or unknown cemetery be encountered during the Project, the Project will also comply with Chapters 711 and 715 of the Texas Health and Safety Code. All proposed improvements will be located within existing Mission Road and Acequia Road ROWs measuring 18 acres (7.3 hectares [ha]) (Project Area). The Project Area includes a total of 2.1 miles (3.4 kilometers) of existing Mission Road and Acequia Road ROWs. Depths of impact are anticipated to vary across the Project Area, ranging from approximately 1 to 3 feet (0.3 to 0.9 meter [m]) apart from the extension of the culvert mid-block along Mission Road, where the depth of impact is not anticipated to exceed 6 feet (1.8 m). In consultation with the COSA OHP and THC, a portion of the Project Area located between two historic-age cemeteries was targeted for the field investigation (Field Investigation Area). The total Field Investigation Area measures 2.4 ac (1 ha) along 1,777 feet (541.6 linear meters) of the Mission Road corridor, specifically between San Jose Burial Park and Mission Burial Park. Cultural resources investigations consisted of a program of archaeological trenching along the eastern and western sides of the ROW within an area proposed for decorative pavers and sidewalk/shared-used pathways. No archaeological investigations were conducted for proposed driveway improvements, utility surface adjustments, or the culvert box location within the Field Investigation Area, as this construction will be located within areas extensively disturbed by past improvements below the level of anticipated discovery. Additionally, the proposed improvements will have limited vertical impacts at this location. Archaeological trenching of the Project Area occurred between March 18 and 19, 2019, (east side of Mission Road), and again between May 4 and 6, 2020, (west side of Mission Road). Nesta Anderson and Zachary Overfield served as the Principal Investigators for the respective fieldwork dates and were assisted by archaeologists Jacob Sullivan, James Moore, Melanie Nichols, and Lily Camara. A total of 16 trenches were excavated during fieldwork in accordance with a research design initially approved by the COSA OHP on January 28, 2019 and by the THC on January 29, 2019, under Texas Antiquities Permit 8748. Amendments to the permit were approved by the COSA OHP April 28, 2020 and by the THC on May 4, 2020. The trenching investigations did not result in the documentation of any archaeological sites, nor evidence of human remains or graves within the Field Investigation Area. Based on the results of these investigations, no historic properties will be affected by the Project and no further work is recommended. All records associated with the Project will be curated at the University of Texas at San Antonio Center for Archaeological Research (UTSA-CAR)

Archaeological Data Recovery Of A Burned Rock Midden At Site 41CM412, Comal County, Texas

The Comal Independent School District (CISD) retained Pape-Dawson Engineers, Inc. (PapeDawson) to conduct cultural resource investigations for the proposed construction of a new high school (High School #4) near the city of Garden Ridge in southern Comal County, Texas. The CISD High School #4 Project (Project) includes construction of buildings, parking lots, roadways, and associated utility installation for the new school campus. After the identification of a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL)-eligible burned rock midden at site 41CM412 during the preliminary archaeological survey, a data recovery investigation was undertaken within this portion of the site. Pape-Dawson archaeologists initially identified site 41CM412 during an intensive archaeological survey for the Project between December 11, 2017, and January 10, 2018, under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 8244. Comprising the entire 40.4-hectare (ha; 99.8-acre [ac]) survey area, site 41CM412 is a multi-component site containing early to mid-twentieth century structures, a light scatter of historic artifacts, an extensive scatter of prehistoric lithic material (both tools and non-tools), and a large burned rock midden. While the historic component of the site, as well as the extensive lithic artifact scatter, were determined to be not eligible for designation as a SAL, Pape-Dawson’s survey effort concluded that the burned rock midden demonstrated research value. Following completion of the initial survey, Pape-Dawson archaeologists coordinated with the Texas Historical Commission (THC), who concurred that the burned rock midden feature at site 41CM412 met the requirements for SAL designation. As impacts to the burned rock midden at site 41CM412 could not be avoided during the proposed Project construction, Pape-Dawson archaeologists conducted a data recovery investigation of the midden deposits. Since CISD is a political subdivision of the State of Texas, compliance with the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT) was required for the investigation. Pape-Dawson completed the data recovery field effort under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 8361 between March 19 and April 3, 2018. The data recovery Project Area included a buffer of 0.66 ha (1.63 ac) surrounding the 0.21-ha (0.51-ac) midden area within the overall 40.4-ha (99.8-ac) site boundary. The primary goals of the investigation were to (1) assess the age or age range of the midden accumulation; (2) identify if the type of burned rock formation was sheet, domed, or annular; (3) identify the fuel sources and types of food processed at the midden; (4) determine if a heating element was present within the midden or if the rocks were heated elsewhere; and (5) determine if the accumulation of burned rock was gradual over a period of time or rapid during a phase of intense usage. To address these research questions, the investigation consisted of a program of systematic shovel testing, mechanical excavation of two archaeological trenches, and the hand-excavation of two 1-x-1-meter (3.3-x-3.3-foot) units, as well as five 50-x-50-centimeter (19.7-x-19.7-inch) columns. Melanie Nichols served as the initial Principal Investigator (PI), and Dr. Karissa Basse assumed responsibility as PI during report production. Field efforts were led by Melanie Nichols, with assistance from Jacob Sullivan, Virginia Moore, Megan Veltri, and Dr. Nesta Anderson. Light Detection and Ranging imaging and drone footage were collected on site by David Leyendecker and Angela Livingston. Geographic Information Systems and laboratory assistance was provided by Jacob Sullivan, Sheldon Smith, Ann Marie Blackmon, and Mikayla Mathews. Curation for the Project was completed by Ann Marie Blackmon and Mason Miller. Special studies, including macrobotanical analysis, faunal analysis, projectile point analysis, magnetic susceptibility testing, and radiocarbon dating, were conducted by Dr. Leslie Bush, Melanie Nichols, Chris Ringstaff, Dr. Charles Frederick, and Direct AMS, respectively. Brooke Bonorden served as editor, and Zachary Overfield oversaw quality control and quality assurance. The data recovery investigations resulted in the horizontal and vertical refinement of the boundaries of the burned rock midden (Feature 1) within 41CM412, which dates to the Archaic period. In addition, two internally embedded features—a possible heating element (Feature 1.1) and an earth oven pit (Feature 1.2)—were identified. A historic-age midden (Feature 2) was also identified during investigation. In total, the prehistoric assemblage collected from site 41CM412 consists of 3,224 prehistoric artifacts, including 3,156 lithics (17 projectile points, 2 dart point preforms, 29 bifaces, 3 unifacial scrapers, 1 perforator, 5 edge-modified flakes, 2 cores, 1 blank, and 3,096 pieces of unmodified debitage), 47 faunal bone fragments, 10 pieces of ocher (21.16 grams [g]), 1,395.4 g burned clay, 2.46 g charcoal, and 2,910 pieces of burned rock (214.29 kilograms). The historic- and modern-age material recovered from the site largely consists of metal, glass, cut faunal bone, and mortar. All cultural material was collected and brought back to the Pape-Dawson Laboratory in Austin for processing and analysis aside from FCR, which was analyzed and discarded in the field. Based on the results of the fieldwork and subsequent analyses, the burned rock midden at site 41CM412 appears to have largely resulted from a series of long-term, or perhaps seasonal occupations occurring from the Early to Transitional Archaic periods, with a concentrated occupation evident during the Middle Archaic. The vertical distribution of artifacts at the site points to multiple occupations occurring on a landform with a slow sedimentation rate. Integral heating elements and earth oven pits (Features 1.1 and 1.2, respectively) within the Feature 1 midden suggest the site contained a center-focused cooking facility. This facility is represented by the annular formation of the overall midden and on-site heating of the rocks. Task specific activities at the site include earth oven baking (as evidenced by burned rock midden deposits) and tool manufacturing and maintenance (as evidenced by a high percentage of small, tertiary flakes within the artifact assemblage). Processing of predominantly meat products also occurred at the site, given the presence of faunal bone within the overall Feature 1 matrix and general lack of packing material in the earth oven. Ancient fuel sources appear to be hardwoods of oak and potentially juniper. In addition, trace evidence of hickory/walnut/pecan family nuts indicate these plants may have also been processed as a food source. Although not all cultural components of the site were stratigraphically discrete, the burned rock midden deposits illustrate evidence of use and reuse over several millennia. This sequence significantly contributes to our understanding of Archaic cooking models and burned rock formation processes. In accordance with the criteria in 13 ACT 26.10, Pape-Dawson’s data recovery of the SAL eligible portion of site 41CM412 has mitigated any impact associated with the construction of the Comal ISD High School #4. As a result, Pape-Dawson recommends no further work for the site. The THC concurred with the Pape-Dawson’s recommendation on April 13, 2018 and allowed construction for the Project to proceed. Furthermore, Pape-Dawson received concurrence from the THC for the draft report of investigation on October 23, 2020. Following completion of the final report, artifact discard decisions will be coordinated with the THC. Project records, photographs, and select collected artifacts will be curated at the University of Texas at San Antonio Center for Archaeological Research