Archaeological Survey of the Proposed Location for a New Selmier-North Vernon 69kV Transmission Line, Jennings County, Indiana

Abstract

At the request of Hoosier Energy REC, Inc., the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Indiana University (GBL) conducted a Phase Ia archaeological reconnaissance survey of the proposed location for construction of a new Selmier-North Vernon 69k V transmission line, northeast of North Vernon, Jennings County, Indiana. According to information provided to the GBL by Hoosier Energy, the project will involve replacement of the existing wooden power poles with new poles in essentially the same locations. All work will be conducted within the current transmission line corridor, which was originally built circa 1940. Approximately 16 acres were surveyed. The purposes of the survey were 1) to identify and document all of the cultural resources in the project area, 2) to evaluate any sites with regard to their eligibility for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and the Indiana Register of Historic Sites and Structures (IRHSS), and 3) to make recommendations for the protection of significant and potentially significant sites. Fieldwork was conducted September 28-29 and October 6-7, 1999 by GBL archaeologists Mary E. Pirkl, Wendy L. Natt, Devin W. Fishel, and Lee T. Fennimore. Nine previously undocumented archaeological sites (12 Jn 344-352) were discovered during survey. Eight sites (12 Jn 344-351) are prehistoric; one site (12 Jn 352) is an historic structural remnant. Sites 12 Jn 345, 348, 349, 3 50, 3 51, and 3 52 are recommended to be non-significant and ineligible for inclusion on either the NRHP and IRHSS. Cultural resource clearance is recommended for these sites. Sites 12 Jn 344, 346, and 34 7 are recommended to be potentially significant archaeological sites. However, because portions of those sites within the existing right-of-way have been heavily disturbed by previous transmission line construction, the GBL recommends that these portions do not have the potential to contribute to overall site significance. Therefore, cultural resource clearance is recommended for powerline construction through disturbed portions of sites 12 Jn 344, 346, and 347. It should be stressed that construction in these sensitive segments of the right-of-way should be strictly limited to previously disturbed areas.