CULTURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY AND EVALUATION FOR THE SAN YSIDRO RAIL YARD IMPROVEMENT PROJECT Submitted to: Mr. Tim Belzman Helix Environmental Planning, Inc. 7578 El Cajon Boulevard, Suite 200 La Mesa, California 91941 Prepared by: Sinéad Ní Ghabhláin, Ph.D., RPA, Principal Investigator Sarah Stringer-Bowsher, M.A., Project Historian Shelby Gunderman, B.A., Associate Archaeologist Chad A. Willis, B.A., Associate Archaeologist ASM Affiliates, Inc. 2034 Corte del Nogal Carlsbad, California 92011 Type of Study: Cultural Resource Evaluation USGS 7.5' Quad: Imperial Beach Keywords: San Diego and Arizona Railroad (P-37-25680); San Ysidro; CA-SDI-5555; CA-SDI-10613; CA-SDI-19751; 54 acres April 2010 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATABASE INFORMATION ................... v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................... vi 1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................... 1 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ........................................................................ 1 STUDY PERSONNEL ............................................................................. 5 2. NATURAL AND CULTURAL OVERVIEW ........................................ 7 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING .................................................................. 7 Geomorphology ................................................................................... 7 Climate ............................................................................................. 7 Vegetation ......................................................................................... 8 Fauna ............................................................................................... 8 CULTURAL HISTORY ............................................................................ 8 Prehistory .......................................................................................... 8 Paleo-Indian Period .............................................................................. 9 Archaic Period ................................................................................... 10 Late Prehistoric Period ......................................................................... 11 Ethnohistoric Period ............................................................................ 12 Post-Contact History ............................................................................ 13 Historical Overview of the Border Crossing at San Ysidro .............................. 14 Historic Overview of the San Diego and Eastern Arizona Railroad .................... 16 3. SURVEY METHODS AND RESULTS ............................................. 19 RECORDS SEARCH .............................................................................. 19 NATIVE AMERICAN CONSULTATION .................................................... 19 FIELD SURVEY METHODS .................................................................... 28 SURVEY RESULTS ............................................................................... 28 Prehistoric Resources ........................................................................... 29 Historic Resources .............................................................................. 31 CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................... 32 4. RESEARCH DESIGN AND OBJECTIVES ....................................... 33 RESEARCH DESIGN FOR PREHSITORIC SITES ......................................... 33 General Issues .................................................................................... 33 Site Formation Processes ...................................................................... 33 Chronology and Dating ......................................................................... 33 Lithic Technology ............................................................................... 34 Settlement Organization and Site Function ................................................. 35 Subsistence Orientation ......................................................................... 35 San Ysidro Rail Yard Improvement Project Cultural Resources i Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) Chapter Page HISTORICAL RESEARCH DESIGN .......................................................... 36 Site Organization and Land Use .............................................................. 36 Historic Economic Strategies .................................................................. 37 TRADITIONAL CULTURAL PROPERTIES ................................................ 38 5. ARCHAEOLOGICAL TESTING RESULTS ..................................... 39 FIELD METHODOLOGY ........................................................................ 39 STP Excavation .................................................................................. 39 Unit Excavation .................................................................................. 39 Laboratory and Analytical Methods .......................................................... 39 Surface Collection ............................................................................... 40 TESTING RESULTS .............................................................................. 40 SDI-5555 .......................................................................................... 40 SDI-19751/ P-37-031175 ...................................................................... 40 SUMMARY .......................................................................................... 44 6. CULTURAL RESOURCE EVALUATION ........................................ 45 NATIONAL REGISTER CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION ............................... 45 THE CALIFORNIA REGISTER CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION ...................... 46 CITY OF SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL RESOURCES REGISTER ....................... 47 EVALUATION OF HISTORIC RESOURCES ............................................... 48 CA-SDI-5555 .................................................................................... 48 P-37-025680, San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway .................................. 48 SDI-19751/P-37-031175 ....................................................................... 49 IMPACTS ASSESSMENT AND MITIGATION ............................................. 49 REFERENCES .................................................................................... 51 APPENDICES ................................................................. Bound Separately APPENDIX A. Record Search - Confidential APPENDIX B. Native American Heritage Commission Correspondence - Confidential APPENDIX C. DPR Forms - Confidential APPENDIX D. Confidential Figures ii San Ysidro Rail Yard Improvement Project Cultural Resources Table of Contents LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1. Project vicinity map. ....................................................................... 3 Figure 2. Project location map. ....................................................................... 4 Figure 3. Overview of the Project Area from the northern end, facing southeast. ......... 29 Figure 4. Location of cultural resources in the Project Area. - Confidential ................ 30 Figure 5. The location of STPs 1-8 in SDI-5555. - Confidential .............................. 42 Figure 6. Historic site SDI-19751 showing the structural remains and the location of STPs 8 and 9. - Confidential ......................................................... 43 LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1. Previous Cultural Resources Reports Addressing the APE ......................... 20 Table 2. Previously Recorded Cultural Resources within a One-Half Mile Radius of the Project Area ......................................................................... 24 Table 3. Historical Buildings Located Within One-Half Mile of the Project Area ........ 27 Table 4. Results of STP Excavation ............................................................... 41 San Ysidro Rail Yard Improvement Project Cultural Resources iii NADB Information NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATABASE INFORMATION Authors: Sinéad Ní Ghabhláin, Sarah Stringer-Bowsher, Chad Willis, Shelby Gunderman Firm: ASM Affiliates, Inc Project Proponent SANDAG Report Date: March 2010 Report Title: Cultural Resource Inventory and Evaluation for The San Ysidro Rail Yard Improvement Project Type of Study: Cultural Resource Inventory and Evaluation New Sites: SDI-19751 Updated Sites: CA-SDI-5555; CA-SDI-10613; P-37-025680 USGS Quad: San Ysidro, 7.5-minute quadrangle Acreage: 54 acres Keywords: San Ysidro 7.5-minute USGS quad; Otay Mesa; San Diego and Arizona Railway; Lithic scatter; Lithic procurement site; cattle feeding yard; CA- SDI-5555; CA-SDI-10613; SDI-19751; P-37-025680 San Ysidro Rail Yard Improvement Project Cultural Resources v Executive Summary EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report provides the results of an inventory and eligibility evaluation of cultural and historical resources located within and adjacent to the approximately 54-acre Area of Potential Effect (APE) for the proposed San Ysidro Rail Yard Improvement Project (Project). This study included a records search and literature review, archival research, a field survey, and documentation and evaluation of cultural and historical resources. The records search and literature review provided information on previously recorded resources in the Project vicinity. Archival research was conducted to develop a historical context for the development of San Ysidro. Field survey took place October 22, 2009