Atkins North America, Inc. 6504 Bridge Point Parkway, Suite 200 ATKINS Austin, Texas 78730 Telephone: +1.512.327.6840 Fax: +1.512.327.2453 www.atkinsglobal.com/northamerica Document No. 110073 PBS&J Job No. 100018259 A CULTURAL RESOURCES SURVEY REPORT FOR INVESTIGATIONS AT A CROSSING STRUCTURE ON THE RED RIVER FOR THE NORTHWEST TEXARKANA 345-KV TRANSMISSION LINE BOWIE COUNTY, TEXAS Prepared for: American Electric Power 212 East Sixth Street Tulsa, Oklahoma 74119-1295 Prepared by: Atkins 6504 Bridge Point Parkway Suite 200 Austin, Texas 78730 Principal Investigator: Report Authors: Nesta Anderson Michael Chavez Julie Shipp Amy McWhorter April 2011 Contents Page List of Figures......................................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables............................................................v Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. v 1. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................................1 II. ENVIRONM ENTAL SETTING .................------....................................................................................... 3 CLI MATE.................................................. ...................................................................... 3 PALEOCLI MATE.............................................................................................................................. 3 PHYSIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................................. 4 FLORA AND FAUNA .................... ........................ ................................................................. 5 GEOLOGY AND SOILS ..................................................................................................................... 5 STREAMS AND LANDFORMS..........................................................................................................5 III. CULTURAL SETTING............................................................................................................................ 7 PALEQINDIAN PERIOD ('11,500-9000 B.P.) .................................................................................. 7 ARCHAIC PERIOD (9000-2200 B.P)............................................................................................ 8 EARLY CERAMIC (FOURCHE MALINE) (2200-1100 B.P)............................................................... 9 LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY INFLUENCES.....................................................................................11 CADDO CULTURE (CA. 1100-90 B.P)....................................................................................... 11 Formative (1100-950 B.P.) and Early Caddo (950-750 B.P.) ................................................ 12 M iddle Caddo (750-550 B.P.)............................................................................................13 Late Caddo (550-270 B.P.) ................................................................................................ 14 Historic Caddo (270-90 B.P.)..............................................................................................15 EUROPEAN CONTACT AND SETTLEM ENT..................................................................................16 Contact Period (1500-1840)...........................................................................................16 MAJOR HISTORIC PERIOD THEMES AND DEVELOPMENTS ........................................................ 18 Plantations in the Great Bend Region ........................................................................... 18 Tenant Farming ............................................................................................................... 18 The Timber Industry in the Great Bend Region...............................18 IV. M ETHODS............................. .................................................................. 19 RECORDS REVIEW ........................................................................................................................ 19 EXPLORATORY TRENCHING....................................................................................... ...... 21 VISUAL IM PACTS SURVEY..........................................................................................................21 V. RESULTSAU.......... R ... .............................. ...... ............................................................... 23 EXPLORATORY TRENCHING RESULTS ...................................................................................... 23 VISUAL IM PACT SURVEY RESULTS.............................................................................................24 VI. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOM M ENDATION .................................................................................... 26 BACKHOE TRENCH ING RECOM MENDATIONS............................................................................26 VISUAL IMPACT SURVEY RECOMMENDATIONS....................................................................... 26 100018259/110073 ii Contents Page REFERENCES CITED................................----......--------------...................................................................... 27 Appendix: Locations of Previously Recorded Sites within 1 km of the Project Area (not for public disclosure) iii 100018259/ 110073 100018259/110073 iii Contents Figures Page 1 P roject V icin ity ..................--- ---- ----..-- ---- ---- --. ----... --. ....................................................... 2 2 Red River Trenching, Texas Side..........................................22 BHTA..profile.......................................................23 3 A o ...................................................................................................................... 2 3 4 Circa 1945 Out building Outside of Visual A PE ..................................................................... 25 Tables Page 1 Previously Recorded Sites within 1 Kilometer of Project Area ......................................... 20 2 Representative Backhoe Trench (BHT A) Profile Description ........................................... 24 iv 100018259/110073 100018259/110073 iv Abstract On April 5, 2011, Atkins North America, Inc. (Atkins, formerly PBS&J), conducted background research, exploratory archeological trenching, and a visual impacts survey for a proposed crossing structure for American Electric Power. The structure is part of the Northwest Texarkana 345-kV transmission line project and is located in Bowie County, Texas. V 100018259/110073 100018259/110073 V I. INTRODUCTION American Electric Power (AEP) is constructing a transmission line from the Northwest Texarkana substation northeast of the City of Leary in Bowie County, Texas, to the Red River near Texarkana, where it will connect to the portion of the line proposed in Arkansas. Since the project requires a Section 404 Permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act will apply. The USACE Vicksburg District has claimed jurisdiction over the entirety of the line. Although this line will extend from Leary to Texarkana, at this time, AEP has prioritized construction of the sections of the line that span the Red River. One crossing structure near the Red River in Bowie County is associated With this construction (Figure 1). This report presents the results of the investigation of the crossing structure; the remainder of the line will be surveyed at a later date, and the results will be presented in a separate report. On April 5, 2011, Atkins North America, Inc. (Atkins), formerly PBS&J, conducted archeological trenching at this proposed structure location. They also conducted a visual impacts survey for a mile radius around the proposed structure. No cultural material was located within the backhoe trenches. The visual impacts survey resulted in the documentation of a circa 1945 agricultural outbuilding that does not appear eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). 1 100018259/110073 100018259/110073 1 Little River County - --- -sOgden / _\I- - - /7 -71 Trenching Location 4 108) /( 59 v/I' Bowie County -- ' Miller County 59 OK ATKINS AR Figure 1 - Project Vicinity Map Proposed Alignment Red River Trenching, Texas Side rx "-- CuyBun ryNW Texarkana ---- "345-kV Transmission Line I I ABowie County, Texas Prepared By: Atkins/15490 Scale: 1" = 2 Miles O 2 4 6 Mls Job No.: 100016470 Date: Feb 15, 2011 N \Chents\A_B\AEP\Turk_Northw est\g eo\figs\FIG1_NWTEX_Trenchmig_.LOC.mxd 2 II. ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING The project is located in the northeastern part of Bowie County, which is in the western Gulf Coastal Plain. More specifically, the trenching location is in the Red River valley, where the river begins to turn southward as it transects the southwestern corner of Arkansas into Louisiana. Archeologically, this area is known as the Great Bend Region (Schambach 1982a). This region is rich in natural resources and fertile soils, and therefore has been inhabited throughout the prehistoric and historic periods. CLIMATE The current mean annual precipitation of Bowie County is 48 inches with a mean annual high temperature of 62 degrees Fahrenheit (*F) (Soil Survey Staff 2011). The mean annual temperature is derived from a rather