Article Title

Archeological Survey Report of FM 536 Improvements Project near Floresville, Wilson County, Texas

Authors

Karla J. Córdova

Agency

Center for Archaeological Research

DOI

https://doi.org/10.21112/ita.2006.1.1

Abstract

The Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) of the University of Texas at San Antonio was contracted by Civil Engineering Consultants, Inc. (CEC) of San Antonio to conduct an archeological survey of the proposed improvements within the right-of-way (ROW) of FM 536 near Floresville, Wilson County, Texas. The archeological work was necessary to address the requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Antiquities Code of 1966, as amended. The archeological services were performed on behalf of CEC and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to identify any archeological properties that may be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places and that may warrant designation as a State Archeological Landmark. All work was conducted under the terms and conditions of the Programmatic Agreement among the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA),TxDOT, the Texas Historical Commission (THC) and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the Memorandum of Agreement between TxDOT and THC.

The entire project area for ROW improvements is located on USGS 7.5’ topographic quadrangles Dewees, TX, Floresville, TX, and Saspamco SE, TX. The proposed improvements consist of widening the roadway within the existing ROW and extending drainage structures along FM 536 from Loop 181 in Floresville, west to its intersection with FM 2579. There should be no impacts outside the existing ROW because no new easements will be acquired. Since we anticipated that the existing ROW has already been heavily impacted from previous construction of FM 536, no reconnaissance survey was performed and the surface and subsurface investigations were limited to the three areas west of Floresville where FM 536 crosses the San Antonio River, Mariana Creek, and an unnamed tributary of Mariana Creek, respectively. The subsurface investigations consisting of backhoe trenching and mechanical auger testing were conducted between October 10 and 14, 2005. A site visit to inspect the project area occurred on October 5, 2005. Ten backhoe trenches and 23 mechanical auger bores were excavated at the three water crossings along FM 536 on each side of the road and on each bank of the drainages. No new archeological sites were documented during the survey, and no cultural material was recovered during the investigations.

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.