CULTURAL RESOURCES TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM

TO: Martha McDonnell FROM: Charlane Gross, M.A., RPA, Senior Archaeologist PROJECT: Newcastle Fire Station Project SUBJECT: Cultural Resources Technical Memorandum DATE: December 1, 2017

INTRODUCTION

Charlane Gross, Senior Archaeologist with AES, previously prepared a Cultural Resources Study for the Newcastle Fire Station Project in 2014; construction for that project is now underway. The project site is situated at 9301 Old State Highway, Newcastle, , between Old State Highway and an off-ramp from Interstate 80 (I-80) in western Placer County. The proposed project involves the placement of fill in a deep basin at the project site and subsequent construction of a new fire station on the lot. The basin represents the original ground surface; surrounding construction including roads, railroads, warehouses, and other industrial structures are all located on built-up surfaces, requiring the basin to be filled prior to construction of the new fire station.

The original survey, completed in August 2014, identified a concrete slab and a concrete footing/pier as well as modern brush and debris in the bottom of the basin. At the time, Newcastle Fire Protection District representatives indicated that the area had hosted a Chinese community in the first half of the 20th century and a that was razed in the late 1950s for construction of I-80; that information was confirmed in 2017 by John Mattos, local historian. However, in 2017, Mr. Mattos indicated that the Chinese community was located 300-500 feet north of the project site and that the shanty town was originally a camp for seasonal agricultural workers, possibly constructed in association with the Farm Security Administration (FSA), which constructed 13 large, and many small, worker camps throughout California.

In November 2017, grubbing and clearing in preparation for project construction led to the discovery of additional concrete slab features, a hose bib, building rubble, burned and butchered fauna, and bottles and ceramics. Background research indicates that the migrant worker camp existed in 1938, but that those structures were either demolished or added to, as the slabs uncovered in 2017 do not match the 1938 aerial photograph, and were likely built in the 1950s. The fauna could be related to any period of use, but

some of the bottles and ceramics are associated with the Chinese community, and most date to the 19th century.

The background setting information that was presented in the previous report (Gross, 2014) is incorporated by reference and will not be repeated here.

PROJECT LOCATION

The project site is located on Assessor’s Parcel Numbers 040-179-001-000 and 040-179-011-000 in Newcastle, Placer County, California (Figure 1). The project site consists of less than two acres within a deep basin situated in Section 19 of Township 12 North, Range 8 East as depicted on the Rocklin, California U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle.

REGULATORY SETTING Cultural resources are defined as buildings, sites, structures, or objects, each of which may have historical, architectural, archaeological, cultural, and/or scientific importance. Numerous laws, regulations, and statutes at the federal level govern archaeological and historic resources deemed to have scientific, historic, or cultural value. The pertinent regulatory framework, as it applies to the project site, is summarized below.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) includes directives regarding impacts on historical resources and unique archaeological resources. CEQA states that if implementation of a project would result in significant environmental impacts, then public agencies should assess whether such impacts can be substantially lessened or avoided through feasible mitigation measures or alternatives. This general mandate applies to certain cultural resources.

Only significant cultural resources (e.g., “historical resources” and “unique archaeological resources”) need to be addressed. State CEQA Guidelines define a historical resource as, among other things, “a resource listed or eligible for listing on the California Register of Historical Resources” (CRHR) (CEQA Guidelines, Section 15064.5, subdivision [a][1]; see also Public Resources Code [PRC] Sections 5024.1 and 21084.1). A historical resource may be eligible for inclusion on the CRHR, as determined by the State Historical Resources Commission or the lead agency, if the resource:

(1) Is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of California’s history and cultural heritage; or (2) Is associated with the lives of persons important in our past; or (3) Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region, or method of construction, or represents the work of an important creative individual, or possesses high artistic values; or (4) Has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.

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PRC Section 15064.5(e) of the State CEQA Guidelines requires that excavation activities be stopped whenever human remains are uncovered and that the county coroner be called in to assess the remains. If the county coroner determines that the remains are those of Native Americans, the Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) must be contacted within 24 hours. At that time, Section 15064.5(d) of the State CEQA Guidelines directs the lead agency to consult with the appropriate Native Americans as identified by the NAHC, and directs the lead agency (or applicant), under certain circumstances, to develop an agreement with the Native Americans for the treatment and disposition of the remains.

Historic Background Between the and the Depression, hundreds of thousands of Americans were forced to leave there , many headed westward to the golden lands of California. Unfortunately, what they found was discrimination and competition for even the most menial farm work. The “” settled wherever they could find work, often forming what were known as ditch-bank camps; these consisted of the barest essentials, and migrants built their homes out of cardboard, plywood, canvas, or anything else they could get. Frequently arrayed along field ditches, creeks or rivers, the occupants could get water from the ditch, but also used it for bathing and garbage dumping, creating terrible living conditions. visited a number of ditch bank camps and described a typical settlement thus: “From a distance it looks like a city dump” (Steinbeck, 1936). In part, photographs of the living conditions forced on so many migrants led to government programs designed to help workers.

At the same time, a number of programs were developed under what has become known as the New Deal. These included the Resettlement Administration, created in 1935, and designed to assist poor farmers dislocated by the Dust Bowl or the Depression. The plan had socialist overtones that proved unpopular with Congress and the public, and within two years had morphed into a number of different programs, including the FSA (Legends of America, 2003).

Active from 1937 to 1942, the FSA was under the Department of Agriculture and designed to help with rural rehabilitation, farm loans, and subsistence homestead programs. The focus was on improving the lifestyle of sharecroppers, tenants, poor landowning farmers, and resettling farmers on government-owned group farms (Legends of America, 2003). Additionally, the FSA assisted families by providing healthcare, education, and training programs for participating families (DPLA, 2016). The FSA was unpopular with large-scale farmers who wanted a tenant workforce, and struck some as a form of socialism. To deflect some of the criticism, FSA constructed 13 migrant labor camps in California (Library of Congress, 2017) of all sizes (O’Reilly, 2012); numerous others were constructed along similar lines, apparently including the project site.

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2014 METHODS AND RESULTS Research In 2014, a background record search was completed at the North Central Information Center (NCIC) of the California Historical Resources Information System. That search found that only one archaeological site had been identified within 0.5 miles of the project site, CA-PLA-999H, which included structure remnants and a debris deposit an enameled metal coffee pot, plates, whiteware fragments, and glass fragments. No previous surveys of the project site were noted. Additionally, no pertinent information was derived from an examination of historic maps (Gross, 2014); however, an aerial photograph from 1938 shows four large structures on the project site (Attachment A).

Native American Contact Program In 2014, the NAHC was asked for a search of the Sacred Lands Files and for a list of Native American groups or individuals who might have information relating to resources in the project vicinity. Everyone identified by the NAHC was contacted, and a response was received from Marcos Guerrero of the United Auburn Indian Community (UAIC), stating that UAIC knew that a roundhouse, Pitelecum, often referred to as the Lizard Roundhouse, was in the project vicinity (Gross, 2014). A site visit by UAIC was planned, but UAIC failed to attend.

2014 Field Survey During the survey, the edge of a concrete slab and a nearby concrete footing/pier were identified near the center of the project site. Clearing revealed that the slab measured roughly 10 feet (ft.) by 15 ft. by greater than 10 inches (in.) thick. The pier measured 16 in. by 16 in. by 17 in. and was not clearly associated with the slab. The NCIC assigned site number P-31-006115/CA-PLA-2634/H.

2017 FINDS As grubbing and clearing proceeded, individual features were uncovered and plotted using a global positioning system; in total, one water bib, 13 concrete tent pads measuring approximately 12 ft. by 15 ft., and one larger pad measuring approximately 20 ft. by 30 ft. were uncovered (Attachment B). In addition, there were two areas with concentrations of bottles, and a small burned surface with butchered cow bones. Photographs of various site features and individual artifacts are included within Attachment B; both the map and photographs are on California Site Record forms so that they can be filed with the NCIC, the official repository for information regarding archaeological sites in Placer County.

Bottles and ceramics recovered from the north end of the project site were identified using criteria provided by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM, 2017). While some were of fairly recent origin and included cold cream jars, soda bottles, syrup and condiment bottles, and a 4-hole white glass button, the bulk of the bottles and ceramics that could be identified largely dated to the period 1880-1895.

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Additionally, some included Chinese characters and others were stylistically attributable to the Chinese community. Not all bottles recovered were included in this analysis, but a sample included the following:

Number Description Date 2 Green glass spin-molded bottle with a cup bottom and applied lip 1880-1890 2 Green glass spin-molded bottle with a cup bottom and tooled lip 1880-1900 Brown glass spin-molded bottle with a base mold seam and tooled lip. Body has 1 1880-1895 raised embossing that says ELDORADO BREWING CO. STOCKTON, CAL. Brown glass spin-molded bottle with a base mold seam and tooled lip. There is a line 1 1880-1895 of Chinese characters along the base, just above the bottom of the bottle. Clear glass with raised embossing on the body that says LISTERINE across the top 1 1920s of the body and Lambert Pharmacal Company across the bottom of the body. 1 Clear glass hinge-molded ink bottle. Post-1904 Cobalt blue molded bottle with a tooled lip and W.T. CO. USA on base (Whitall-Tatum 1 1880-1900 company) Aqua glass soda bottles – A.W. K. CO. AUBURN, CAL. on base (A.W. Kennison, 2 1904-1916 bottler) Aqua glass soda bottles – STAR SODA WORKS SACRAMENTO and a centrally 1 Post-1904 placed star on base Clear glass medicine shot glass with: MARK D. BARRETT DRUGGIST 1 1875-1940 NEWCASTLE embossed on one side and three measurements embossed on the other: TABLE, DESSERT, TEA Clear glass molded bottle with a tooled lip. Opium bottle with Chinese characters 1 1880-1900 embossed on the bottom 1 Ceramic beer or soda water bottle with an opaque white slip - 1 Chinese stoneware storage jar with a brown glaze - 1 Chinese stoneware rice wine storage jar with a brown glaze - 1 Chinese whiteware teapot -

DISCUSSION Clearing prior to construction of the Newcastle Fire District fire station uncovered a series of artifacts and features related to several periods of Newcastle history. The earliest deposit consists of the bottles and ceramics dating to the late 19th and early 20th century, some of which can be identified with the Chinese community noted by local historians.

Overseas Chinese immigrants were among the first and, ultimately, largest sources of labor during the 19th century. After the gold rush, agriculture became the largest sector of the California economy; the creation of farmland through cultivation, along with massive reclamation and irrigation projects, was accomplished with immigrant labor, primarily Chinese. A subsequent wave of Chinese was driven by railroad construction and the expansion of California agriculture in other areas of the state

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besides the Central Valley, until the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 (Caltrans, 2013). The Chinese encampment reportedly north of the project site may have contributed to the artifacts recovered during construction, but no specific ties can be made to a particular activity within the project site.

An aerial photograph from 1938 shows four moderately large structures on the project site; however, clearing for project construction uncovered 13 smaller concrete tent pads, one larger concrete pad, and a water bib. According to local sources, these smaller tent pads were built sometime in the 1950s. In either case, the pads are all likely associated with seasonal agricultural workers, in particular plum, peach, apple, and pear pickers.

The bottles that do not include markings (and therefore cannot be positively associated with any particular ethnic group) may indicate that the project site was used for communal dumping around the turn of the century, since they span a range of dates from the late 19th to the early-mid 20th centuries.

RECOMMENDATIONS As a result of the records search and field study, a series of concrete pads and associated features were found that are likely associated with seasonal fruit pickers; while the uncovered pads may date to the 1950s, aerial photographs indicate similar earlier uses in the 1930s. No other features or deposits were positively linked to either agricultural worker encampment. The project site currently lies in a low spot, surrounded by built-up land rising approximately 12 feet higher than the lowest point; therefore, there may be other artifacts or features which have been covered or removed by construction outside the limits of the project site. The pads themselves are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of California’s history and cultural heritage (CRHR Criterion 1), but are not specifically associated with persons important in the past (CRHR Criterion 2), and offer no significant architectural or artistic values (CRHR Criterion 3), or information potential (CRHR Criterion 4), and so are recommended not eligible for listing on the CRHR.

Bottles found during site clearing date from as early as the 1880s; however, Euro-American settlement in the region began 30-40 years earlier with the Gold Rush, and none of the bottle types is rare. The artifacts associated with the Chinese community are also not particularly rare, and finding them is not surprising as local historians were already aware of the presence of a Chinese community. While interesting, none of the artifact deposits was particularly large or had particular associations with patterns or people important in history (CRHR Criteria 1 and 2), had no architectural or artistic values (CRHR Criterion 3), and offer only limited information potential (CRHR Criterion 4), and so are recommended not eligible for listing on the CRHR.

If new features or artifacts are uncovered during construction, all work within 50 feet of the find should be halted until a qualified professional archaeologist can evaluate the significance of the find in

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accordance with CRHR criteria. Work should not resume in the vicinity of the find until any required mitigation has been completed.

If human remains are uncovered, compliance with Section 15064.5 (e) (1) of the CEQA Guidelines and PRC Section 7050.5 will be required. All project-related ground disturbances within 100 feet of the find shall be halted until the county coroner has been notified. If the coroner determines that the remains are Native American, the coroner shall ask the NAHC to identify a Most Likely Descendant, who will work with the construction contractor, agency officials and a qualified professional archaeologist to determine an appropriate avoidance strategy or other treatment plan. Project-related ground disturbance in the vicinity of the find shall not resume until the process detailed in Section 15064.5 (e) has been completed.

Statement Of Confidentiality As nonrenewable resources, archaeological sites may be impacted by disturbances that can affect their cultural, scientific, and artistic values. Disclosure of site information to the public may be in violation of both federal and state laws. To discourage damage resulting from vandalism and artifact looting, cultural resources locations should be kept confidential and report distribution restricted. Applicable U.S. laws include, but are not be limited to, Section 304 of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 USC 470w-3) and the Archeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, as amended (PL 96-95; 93 Stat. 721; 16 USC 47Oaa et seq.). California state laws that apply include, but are not be limited to, Government Code Sections 6250 et seq. and 6254 et seq.

REFERENCES Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 2017 Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website. Available at: https://sha.org/bottle/. Accessed November 2017.

Caltrans 2013 Work Camps: Historic Context and Archaeological Research Design.

Digital Public (DPLA) 2016 Farm Security Administration. Available at: https://dp.la/exhibitions/exhibits/show/new- deal/recovery-programs/farm-security-administration. Accessed November 2017.

Gross, Charlane 2014 Cultural and Paleontological Resources Assessment, Newcastle Fire Station Project, Placer County, CA. Report prepared for Roseville Design Group and H.T. Harvey & Associates.

Legends of America 2003 Farm Security Administration. Available at: http://www.legendsofamerica.com/20th-fsa.html. Accessed November 2017.

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Library of Congress 2017 FSA Migratory Labor Camp. Available at: https://www.loc.gov/collections/fsa-owi-black-and- white-negatives/articles-and-essays/documenting-america/fsa-migratory-labor-camp/. Accessed November 2017.

O’Reilly, Kelly R. 2012 “Oklatopia”: The Cultural Mission of California’s Migratory Labor Camps, 1935-1941. Unpublished Senior Thesis, Department of History, Columbia University. Available at: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/fe86/ca62ac08bbfc2422cf80c59d2244a3394910.pdf. Accessed November 2017.

Steinbeck, John 1936 The Harvest Gypsies. Articles published in the San Francisco News, October 5-12, 1936.

December 2017 8 Newcastle Fire Station Project Analytical Environmental Services Cultural Resources Tech Memo ATTACHMENTS

ATTACHMENT A AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH

APPENDIX B SITE RECORD FORMS

State of California - The ResourcesAgency Primary #:______P_-_3_1_-_0_0_6_11_5______DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI #:______SKETCH MAP Trinomial:______C_A__-P_L_A__-2_6_3_4_/_H______*Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder)______C_A_-_P_L_A_-_2_6_3_4_/H______Page__1___of__4___ *Drawn By:______C_h_a_rl_a_n_e_ G__ro_s_s_ _/ _G_le_n_n_ _M_a_y_f_ie_ld____ 1:24000 *Date of Map:__1_1_/2_7_/_2_0_1_7___

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Concrete Pads

Cow Bones

Bottles

Water Bib

Meters

0 10 20

DPR 523K (1/95) *Required Information

State of California  Natural Resources Agency Primary# P-31-006115 DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # Trinomial CA-PLA-2634H CONTINUATION SHEET Property Name: Page 2 of 4

Typical Tent Pad

Chinese Ceramic Vessels

DPR 523L (Rev. 1/1995)(Word 9/2013)

State of California  Natural Resources Agency Primary# P-31-006115 DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # Trinomial CA-PLA-2634H CONTINUATION SHEET Property Name: Page 3 of 4

Chinese Tea Pot

Opium Bottle

DPR 523L (Rev. 1/1995)(Word 9/2013)

State of California  Natural Resources Agency Primary# P-31-006115 DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # Trinomial CA-PLA-2634H CONTINUATION SHEET Property Name: Page 4 of 4

DPR 523L (Rev. 1/1995)(Word 9/2013)