RE: Updated Archaeological Records Review for Proposed Delaney Creek Park Improvements, Washington County, Indiana

Abstract

Per the request of the park manager of Delaney Creek Park, the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Office of Cultural Resource Management (GBL-OCRM), Indiana University has completed an updated archaeological records review for the proposed improvements to Delaney Creek Park. According to information contained in the GBL-OCRM site and survey files, no previous systematic archaeological surveys have been conducted in the proposed project area. An archaeological reconnaissance of the proposed development of recreational facilities at structure 5 in the Delaney Creek watershed was conducted in 1977 by the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service. Three previously undocumented archaeological sites were recorded at the time of the 1977 survey (Crouch 1977). The records check has determined that there are now 253 recorded archaeological sites for Washington County. To the best of our knowledge, the impact area contains no properties currently listed on the NRHP or IRHSS that could be negatively impacted by the proposed development. Although an earlier reconnaissance survey was conducted in 1977, since that time standards and guidelines for conducting archaeological survey have been revised. It is the recommendation of the GBL-OCRM that all portions of the proposed project area that have not been previously disturbed through prior earth-moving activities such as grading or filling be subjected to Phase Ia archaeological reconnaissance-level survey, which will confirm the presence, nature, and extent of disturbance in the proposed project area, and will confirm the presence or absence of potentially important cultural resources.