Wetland Sciences, Inc. OCTOBER 2019

TerraXplorations - 1

A PHASE I CULTURAL RESOURCES SURVEY FOR THE SEAGLADES DEVELOPMENT ON FORT MORGAN PENINSULA BALDWIN COUNTY, ALABAMA

Prepared by TerraXplorations, Inc.

Prepared for Wetland Sciences, Inc.

TerraXplorations, Inc. Wetland Sciences, Inc. 1001 Hampton Gate 3308 Gulf Beach Hwy Mobile, Alabama 36609 OCTOBER 2019 Pensacola, FL 32507 www.terraxplorations.com 2 - Seaglades Development TerraXplorations - 3

A PHASE I CULTURAL RESOURCES SURVEY FOR THE SEAGLADES DEVELOPMENT ON FORT MORGAN PENINSULA BALDWIN COUNTY, ALABAMA

William J. Glass

Prepared by TerraXplorations, Inc. 1001 Hampton Gate Mobile, Alabama 36609

Prepared for

Wetland Sciences, Inc. 3308 Gulf Beach Hwy Pensacola, FL 32507

Principal Investigator Paul D. Jackson

TerraX Report No. 2019.289 Lead Federal Agency: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

October 2019 4 - Seaglades Development TerraXplorations - 1

A PHASE I CULTURAL RESOURCES SURVEY FOR THE SEAGLADES DEVELOPMENT ON FORT MORGAN PENINSULA BALDWIN COUNTY, ALABAMA

INTRODUCTION

TerraXplorations, Inc. (TerraX) of Mobile, Alabama was contracted by Wetland Sciences, Inc. of Pensacola, Florida to conduct a cultural resources survey of four parcels for the Seaglades Development on the Fort Morgan Peninsula in Baldwin County, Alabama. A single-family residence is proposed at this location. The Phase I survey was performed on September 24, 2019. Paul D. Jackson served as Principal Investigator and was assisted by Lucinda Freeman, Will Cothron, and Michael Weaver. The purpose of this study was to determine if any prehistoric or historic properties exist within the limits of the survey tract, and if so, to document and assess each based on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) criteria. The lead federal agency for this project is the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as the applicant seeks an Incidental Take Permit.

The project area, encompassing approximately 10.53 acres (4.26 hectares), is situated along the south side of Fort Morgan Road/Dixie Graves Parkway between Pontoon Lane and Triple Tail Lane approximately 3.75 miles east of Fort Morgan (Figure 1). The combined four parcels extend approximately 1500 ft in length by 340 ft at maximum width. The project area is found in Section 2, Township 9 South, Range 1 East as seen on the 1980 St Andrews Bay, Alabama, USGS 7.5’ series topographic quadrangle (Figure 2). Photographs depicting the present state of the land within the project area are provided (Figures 3-6).

PROJECT AREA ENVIRONMENT

The project area lies in southwestern Baldwin County, Alabama about 16 miles west of Gulf Shores. It is located within the Coastal Lowlands district of the East Gulf Coastal Plain physiographic section. Alabama’s coastal beaches consist of an underlying geologic formation of white and yellow sand that is of recent age (McBride and Burgess 1964). The parent material is sandy marine deposits derived from sedimentary rock.

The area is characterized by a humid, nearly subtropical climate with long, hot summers and short, mild winters. The heat is tempered somewhat by the gulf breezes. The 64.64 inches of rain that falls annually is fairly well distributed, though the fall months are the driest. Hurricanes in late summer and early fall can be devastating.

Soils in the Fort Morgan peninsula area are of the Lakewood-St. Lucie-Leon association. These are moderately deep to deep, poorly drained to excessively drained soils that border salt water and fresh water lakes. More specifically, the soil types present at the site locations consist of St. Lucie-Leon-Muck complex and Coastal beaches. Coastal beaches are deep, excessively drained soils that occur on beach ridges. The St. Lucie- Leon-Muck complex consists of deep, excessively drained soils found on flats (McBride and Burgess 1964).

LITERATURE AND DOCUMENT SEARCH

Before conducting the fieldwork, TerraX performed a literature and document search in order to gather pertinent background information regarding the subject property and its surroundings. This research included inspections of the Alabama State Archaeological Site File (ASASF) (Office of Archaeological Research [OAR] 2019) and the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) (National Park Service 2019). 2 - Seaglades Development

Source: Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, Earthstar Geographics, CNES/Airbus DS, USDA, USGS, AeroGRID, IGN, and the GIS User Community Source: 2018 ESRI Imagery

Baldwin Survey Area ® Kilometers 0 0.5 1

0 0.25 0.5 Miles

Figure 1. Aerial showing survey area. TerraXplorations - 3

Baldwin Survey Area ® Kilometers 0 0.5 1

Base Map: 1980 St Andrews Bay, AL 0 0.25 0.5 USGS 7.5' Topographic Quadrangle Miles

Figure 2. Map showing survey area (based on the 1980 St Andrews Bay, Alabama, USGS 7.5’ series topographic quadrangle). 4 - Seaglades Development

Figure 3. View from western portion of project area, facing east.

Figure 4. View from western portion of project area, facing north. TerraXplorations - 5

Figure 5. View from eastern portion of project area, facing south.

Figure 6. View from eastern portion of project area, facing west. 6 - Seaglades Development

No NRHP properties are found within a mile of the project area (National Park Service 2019). Research of the ASASF (OAR 2019) identified eight recorded archaeological sites within a mile of the project area (Figure 7) (Table 1). Sites 1Ba117 and 1Ba118 have been combined. A search of the NADB maintained by OAR (2019) identified 53 previous Phase I archaeological surveys within a mile of the study area (see Figure 7). The majority of these investigations were also conducted for residential construction.

Table 1. Previously Recorded Sites within a One-Mile Radius of the Study Area.

Site Number Name NRHP Status Components Recorded by Reference

1Ba117/1Ba118 none provided unknown unknown prehistoric Walter Jones Stowe 1999a; Stowe 1999b; Stowe 2000 1Ba119 none provided unknown unknown prehistoric Walter Jones none provided 1Ba120 none provided ineligible unknown prehistoric Walter Jones none provided 1Ba415 none provided eligible Late Mississippian Rebecca Stowe Stowe 1999a; Carruth et al. 1999; Stowe 2002 1Ba416 none provided unknown Middle and Late Woodland Rebecca Stowe Carruth et al. 1999 1Ba587 Privateer Point Shipwreck unknown nineteenth and twentieth century University of South Alabama Ostahowski and Hanlon 2014 Mississippian and nineteenth and 1Ba642 St. Andrews Bay Shell Midden unknown University of South Alabama none provided twentieth century

Finally, historic maps were reviewed in an effort to identify any historic structure locations within the project area. No structures within the project boundaries were seen on the 1909 Baldwin County soil survey map.

FIELD METHODS

The Phase I survey was guided by procedural standards created by the Alabama Council of Professional Archaeologists in concurrence with the Alabama Historical Commission’s (2002) specifications as outlined in the Policy for Archaeological Surveying and Testing in Alabama. Land coverage requirements were achieved by walking and visually inspecting the entire survey area. Exposed surfaces were carefully examined for cultural material. Subsurface testing was performed at 30-m intervals.

When cultural material is discovered, delineations are performed at either 5 or 10-m intervals. Standard shovel tests consist of 30 centimeter (cm) diameter cylindrical holes excavated to the top of the sterile subsoil layer. Soils from each test are screened through 1/4-inch hardware cloth for the purpose of recovering any cultural material that may exist at that location. When cultural material is encountered, the material is sorted by provenience and placed into bags labeled with the pertinent excavation information before being transported to TerraX’s laboratory.

LABORATORY METHODS AND COLLECTION CURATION

All cultural materials recovered during field projects are delivered to TerraX’s laboratory in Mobile, Alabama for processing. Here, materials are sorted by provenience, cleaned, and analyzed. None were found. Along with the cultural material, all project records, photographs, and maps produced while conducting the investigation are transported to the Troy University Archaeological Research Center in Troy, Alabama. A copy of the curation agreement can be found in Appendix A.

RESULTS OF FIELD INVESTIGATIONS

The study area is situated south of Dixie Graves Parkway toward the west end of the Fort Morgan peninsula. The lots are vacant and consist of undulating sand dunes. Vegetation is comprised of typical beach shrubs and grasses, some vine and palmetto, a patch of yaupon, and a juniper in the northeast portion of the study area. Horse tail and cat tail surround a drainage in the southeast part of the project area. Some road construction impacts have occurred near the west and east boundaries but the project area appears overall minimally impacted. TerraXplorations - 7

1BA642

1BA118

4072862

1BA120 1BA117 1BA416

1BA415 4068892 1BA119 4066762 4066792 4066770 4071968 4062297 4061803 4072622 4065756

4066483 4067307

4072623 4064495 4066771 4067112 4068894 1BA587 4064036 4066383 4064499 4062175 4064028 4062297 4063734 4061914 4064215 4072213 4065769 4068790 4067305 4072214 4066774 4067824 4063157 4067316 4065465 4063155 4066749 4062334 4072813 4067825 4064469 4073161 4072620 4066793 4066446 4068533 4066445 4066992 4067826 4064471 4068898 4063160

Survey Area 1Mile Search Radius Baldwin Previously Recorded Archaeological Site ® Previous Cultural Resources Survey Meters 0 00 600

Base Map: 1980 St Andrews Bay, AL 0 900 1800 USGS 7.5' Topographic Quadrangle eet

Figure 7. Map showing previous surveys and archaeological sites within the 1-mile search radius (based on the 1980 St Andrews Bay, Alabama, USGS 7.5’ series topographic quadrangle). 8 - Seaglades Development

This investigation included 45 shovel tests (Figure 8). Forty-one tests were negative for cultural material while four were not able to be excavated due to a wetland in the southeast portion of the study area. Most shovel tests revealed two stratigraphic layers and were dug to 100 cmbs. Stratum I typically consisted of white sand to 50 cmbs over a pale brown sand while others exhibited very pale brown sand over grayish brown sand (Figure 9). No cultural material was seen on the surface or encountered during subsurface testing. As mentioned previously, no structures are seen at this location on the 1909 Baldwin County soil survey map or any more recent topographic quadrangles. However, modern debris was observed across the project area which included shingles, flashing, concrete, wood fencing, plastic, tyvek, golf balls, flip flops, cans, bottles, and a pair of broken sunglasses.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

TerraX, under contract with Wetland Sciences, Inc. of Pensacola, Florida, performed the Phase I cultural resources survey of four parcels for the Seaglades Development on the Fort Morgan Peninsula in Baldwin County, Alabama. The Phase I survey totaled 10.53 acres. As a result of the study, TerraX determined that no prehistoric or historic properties listed on or eligible for the NRHP exist within the project area boundaries. Based on the findings of this investigation, no further cultural resources studies are recommended for the proposed project. TerraXplorations - 9

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Figure 8. Aerial image showing shovel test locations. 10 - Seaglades Development

Figure 9. Typical shovel test profile. TerraXplorations - 11

REFERENCES

Alabama Historical Commission 2002 Alabama Historical Commission Policy for Archaeological Survey and Testing in Alabama. Alabama Historical Commission, Alabama State Historic Preservation Office (ALSHPO), Montgomery, Alabama. Adopted May 13, 1996, Revised October 1, 2002.

McBride, E. H., and L. H. Burgess 1964 Soil Survey of Baldwin County Alabama. Washington, DC: United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service in cooperation with Alabama Agricultural Experimental Station and Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries.

National Park Service 2019 National Register of Historic Places. Electronic document available online at http://www.nps.gov/ nr/research/. Accessed September 2019. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.

Office of Archaeological Research 2019 Alabama State Archaeological Site Files. The University of Alabama, Moundville, Alabama. Secure access website, accessed September 2019.

Ostahowski, Brian and Alison Hanlon 2014 Archaeological Investigations in Support of the MC252 (Deepwater Horizon) Oil Spill Response in the State of Alabama. Report completed by HDR Environmental. 12 - Seaglades Development TerraXplorations - 13

Appendix A Curation Agreement 14 - Seaglades Development TerraXplorations - 15

Date: November 9, 2018

Paul Jackson TerraXplorations 3523 18th Ave NE Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35406

Dear Paul,

As per your request, this letter is to confirm our standing agreement with you to provide curation services to Terra Explorations on an as-needed basis. As you know, we are recognized by a variety of Federal agencies as a repository meeting the standards in 36 CFR Part 79 and have formal agreements to provide curation under these guidelines to multiple federal agencies such as the Army National Guard and Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Please be advised that once a year we must be notified of all reports in which we were named as the repository. Project collections must be submitted within one calendar year of completion. Small projects may be complied for periodic submission. The AHC survey policy specifies which materials must be curated (Administrative Code of Alabama, Chapter 460-X-9). Renewal of this agreement is contingent upon compliance.

We appreciate this opportunity to be of assistance and look forward to working with you in the future.

Sincerely,

Jason Mann Director Archeological Research Center Troy University