Article Title

Archaeological Investigation Along the Route of U.S. 281, From Mulberry Avenue to Tuxedo Avenue in San Antonio

Authors

Clive Luke

Agency

TxDOT

DOI

https://doi.org/10.21112/ita.1974.1.4

Abstract

The route of impending U.S. 281 from Mulberry Avenue to Tuxedo Avenue in San Antonio traverses the valley of Olmos Creek. The creek originates in the southern edge of the Edwards Plateau between Leon Creek and Salado Creek, and flows in a southeasterly direction to its confluence with the San Antonio River. Near that confluence is a series of large fissure springs occurring along the fault zone. The topography of the drainage area varies from rolling to hill, with the area under concern in this report being undeveloped and covered with brush (Corp of Engineers, US Army, 1972).

The Olmos Dam is a concrete gravity type, owned and opera-ted by the City of San Antonio for flood protection of the city's business section. Its construction was prompted by the damage caused by a flood in 1921. Construction was started in 1925 and completed in 1926,

An area such as the Olmos Basin with its springs would have been attractive to aboriginal inhabitants. Consequently in compliance with Senate Bill 58 and the Antiquities C ode of Texas, the right-of-way of the North Expressway was surveyed to determine what archaeological sites would be encountered. After a thorough reconnaissance in early September 1974, it seemed that the proposed highway avoided those places which seemed most likely to have seen prehistoric encampments; however, three areas peripheral to or near known Indian sites were regarded worthy of testing. Accordingly, under Antiquities committee Permit No. 67, archaeological testing was conducted from 17 September to 9 October 1974. The following pages constitute the report of that investigation.

Licensing Statement

This is a work produced for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) by the report producer. TxDOT and the report producer jointly own all rights, title, and interest in and to all intellectual property developed under TxDOT’s contract with the report producer. The report may be cited and brief passages from this publication may be reproduced without permission provided that credit is given to both TxDOT and the report producer. Permission to reprint an entire chapter, section, figures or tables must be obtained in advance from either the Supervisor of the Archeological Studies Branch, Environmental Affairs Division, Texas Department of Transportation, 125 East 11th Street, Austin, Texas, 78701 or from the report producer.