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Applicant's Supplement Submission of 06/11/14 EXHIBIT 1 MAY 2014 PHASE I CULTURAL RESOURCES RECONNAISSANCE SURVEY OF PROPOSED CELLULAR COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY ALONG LEDGES ROAD, RIDGEFIELD CONNECTICUT PREPARED FOR: ALL-POINTS TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION 3 SADDLEBROOK DRIVE KILLINGWORTH, CONNECTICUT 06419 HERITAGE CONSULTANTS, LLC P.O. BOX 310249 NEWINGTON, CONNECTICUT 06131 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 1 2.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION .................................................................................................................. 1 3.0 BACKGROUND RESEARCH.............................................................................................................. 1 4.0 PROJECT CONTEXT: NATURAL & PREHISTORIC SETTINGS, HISTORIC OVERVIEW AND PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS ............................................................................... 2 4.1 Natural Setting ........................................................................................................................... 2 4.2 Prehistory of Connecticut .......................................................................................................... 2 4.3 History of the Proposed Project Region .................................................................................... 5 Native American History .................................................................................................... 5 Colonial and Revolutionary Eras ........................................................................................ 6 Early National and Industrial Eras (1790 to 1930) ............................................................. 7 The Modern Period (1930 to present) ............................................................................... 10 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 11 4.4 Previous Investigations ............................................................................................................ 11 Previously Identified Archaeological Resources ..................................................................... 11 Previously Identified National Register of Historic Places Properties .................................... 13 5.0 FIELD METHODS ........................................................................................................................... 13 6.0 CURATION 13 7.0 RESULTS OF THE INVESTIGATION ............................................................................................... 13 8.0 SUMMARY AND MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................... 14 2 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Excerpt from recent USGS topographic quadrangle map depicting the proposed tower location in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Figure 2. Plan view of the proposed project area depicting the tower and access road locations, as well as excavated shovel tests, in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Figure 3. Excerpt from a 1856 historic map depicting the proposed tower location in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Figure 4. Excerpt from an 1867 historic map depicting the proposed tower location in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Figure 5. Excerpt from an 1890 USGS topographic map depicting the proposed tower location in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Figure 6. Excerpt from a 1908 historic map depicting the proposed tower location in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Figure 7. Excerpt from a 1912 historic map depicting the proposed tower location in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Figure 8. Excerpt from a 1931 historic map depicting the proposed tower location in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Figure 9. Excerpt from a 1934 aerial image depicting the proposed tower location in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Figure 10. Excerpt from a 1941 aerial image depicting the proposed tower location in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Figure 11. Excerpt from a 1890s USGS topographic quadrangle depicting the location of the project area. Figure 12. Excerpt from a 1949 aerial image depicting the proposed tower location in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Figure 13. Excerpt from a 1951 aerial image depicting the proposed tower location in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Figure 14. Excerpt from a 1958 USGS topographic map depicting the proposed tower location in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Figure 15. Excerpt from a 1965 aerial image depicting the proposed tower location in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Figure 16. Excerpt from a 1974 USGS topographic map depicting the proposed tower location in Ridgefield, Connecticut. 3 Figure 17. Excerpt from a 1976 map depicting the proposed tower location in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Figure 18. Excerpt from a 1990 aerial image depicting the proposed tower location in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Figure 19. Excerpt from a 1995 aerial image depicting the proposed tower location in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Figure 20. Excerpt from a 2012 aerial image depicting the proposed tower location in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Figure 21. Digital map depicting the locations of previously recorded archaeological sites in the vicinity of the proposed tower location in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Figure 22. Digital map depicting the locations of previously recorded National Register of Historic Places properties in the vicinity of the proposed tower location in Ridgefield, Connecticut. 4 1.0 Introduction This report summarizes the results of a Phase I cultural resources reconnaissance survey of a proposed cellular communications facility to be constructed on a parcel of land with an address of Ledges Road, located off of the extension of Old Stage Coach Road (R.O.W.) in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Heritage Consultants, LLC, completed the field investigation portion of this project, performed on behalf of All- Points Technology Corporation on April 25, 2014. All work was conducted in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended; the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended; and the Environmental Review Primer for Connecticut’s Archaeological Resources (Poirier 1987). The remainder of this document presents a description of the project area associated with this undertaking, information used as project context, the methods by which the current Phase I cultural resources reconnaissance survey was completed, results of the investigation, and management recommendations for the project. 2.0 Project Description As mentioned above, the proposed cellular communications facility will be constructed on a parcel of land located with an address of Ledges Road, located off of the extension of Old Stage Coach Road (R.O.W.) in Ridgefield, Connecticut. The topography of the project area varies, with elevations ranging from 243.8 to 262.1 m (800 to 860 ft) NGVD (Figure 1). The proposed project area is bounded to north, west, and south by forested areas and to the east by residential lots. The project area consists of a single proposed 22.8 x 22.8 m (75 x 75 ft) lease area that will contain a telecommunications facility and an associated 45.7 m (150 ft) tall tower. The proposed project area also will contain the following items: a transformer, a meter bank, an equipment shelter, and a generator. All of these items will be enclosed within chain link fence. Finally, a 6.1 m (20 ft) wide easement containing a proposed access driveway that will be a combination of gravel and bituminous surfaces that will extend from Old Stage Coach Road (R.O.W.) between two residential properties over a total distance of roughly 213.4 m (700 ft). The proposed access road also will encompass buried utilities to power the cellular communication facility, and it will extend from Old Stage Coach Road (R.O.W.), across a short stretch of previously graveled area, down a graded and filled previously existing logging road, and across a disturbed forested area to the tower location (Figure 2). At the time of survey, the proposed project area was lightly forested and it had been logged in the past, as well as used as a trash dumping area. In addition, the proposed access road area also encompassed numerous natural anthropogenic disturbances, including grading, gravelling, cutting, and filling (see Photos 1 through 21). Despite the fact that the proposed project area contained numerous areas of previous disturbance, the testable portions of the project area were surveyed using shovel testing in an effort to identify any evidence of intact cultural deposits. Field methodologies employed during the current investigation consisted of pedestrian survey, mapping, photo-documentation, and subsurface testing within the portions of the project area containing low slopes and what were thought to be undisturbed soil deposits. The details of the field methods used, as well as the results of this field effort, are reviewed below. 3.0 Background Research The current Phase I cultural resources reconnaissance survey was completed using a three-step approach. The first step consisted of historic research and records review that focused on that portion of Ridgefield encompassing the proposed project area. This was followed by a review of all previously recorded archeological sites and/or National Register of Historic Places properties and historic districts situated within the vicinity of the project items in an effort to determine the archeological context of the region. Finally, this approach entailed the completion of fieldwork associated with the current Phase I cultural resources reconnaissance survey. 1 Background research
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