Phase Ia Archaeological Reconnaissance Survey of Bridge Improvements on US 24 Over Gustin Ditch Project

Abstract

On 16-21 September 2003, the Glenn A. Black Laboratory Office of Cultural Resource Management (GBL-OCRM), Indiana University, conducted a Phase Ia archaeological survey of the proposed bridge improvements on US 24 over Gustin Ditch in Allen County, Indiana (Project NH-176-1[ ], Des. No. 9900860), under contract with the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT). The proposed right-of-way (ROW) is comprised of approximately 12,545 m² (1.3 hectares) and is located in Allen County, Maumee Township, Sections 9, 10, 15 and 16 (Figure 1). Background research and field survey were conducted to: (1) identify and document all cultural resources in the project area; (2) provide an evaluation of National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and Indiana Register of Historic Sites and Structures (IRHSS) eligibility for all identified cultural resources within the project corridor; and (3) provide recommendations for mitigation if avoidance of NRHP- or IRHSS-eligible sites is not possible. This survey was conducted in compliance with Section 106 of the 1966 National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), as amended. The field survey consisted of pedestrian inspection of the entire project corridor. Visual surface inspection and shovel testing were conducted within the project boundaries. Shovel tests were excavated on a 10 m x 10 m grid within the proposed new ROW. A total of 10,073 m2 (1.1 hectares) were subjected to survey and approximately 2,472 m2 (.2 hectares) were subjected to overview (canal fill area). Fieldwork was conducted on 16-21 July 2003 by GBL archaeologists Bryan Will, Eldridge Doubleday, Bob Adkins, and Michael Darland. No new archaeological sites were recorded during the 2003 field investigation. A segment of the Wabash and Erie Canal is presently bisecting the southeastern portion of the project corridor. However, the canal has been filled in to ground surface levels throughout the years which has extensively compromised its structural integrity. It is the opinion of the GBL-OCRM that the lack of structural integrity combined with the lack of future research potential warrants an ineligible NRHP recommendation for the portion of the Wabash and Erie Canal located within the current project corridor. The entrenching nature of the Maumee River has precluded floodplain formation in the study area above elevations of 725 ft amsl (B. Monaghan, Indiana Univesity, personal commun., 2003) Therefore, it is the opinion of the GBL-OCRM that buried paleosols would not be expected to be present within the current project corridor. No further archaeological investigation is necessary and archaeological clearance is therefore recommended. However, if artifacts, cultural features, and/or remains that might prove to be human are discovered during earth-moving activities, the State Historic Preservation Officer at the Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology (DHPA), Indiana Department of Natural Resources, should be contacted immediately.