Article Title

Cultural Resources Survey For A Proposed Detention Pond For The City Of Richmond, In Fort Bend, County, Texas

Authors

Rachel Perrine
David Treichel

Agency

Texas Historical Commission

Abstract

HRA Gray & Pape, LLC, of Houston, Texas conducted an intensive pedestrian cultural resources survey on approximately 3.72 hectares (9.2 acres) of property proposed for the construction of a detention pond in the City of Richmond, Fort Bend County, Texas.

The goals of the survey were to determine if the proposed undertaking would affect any previously identified archaeological sites as defined by Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (36 CFR 800), and to assess the presence of previously unidentified buried archaeological resources within the Project’s Area of Potential Effects. All fieldwork and reporting activities were completed in compliance with state law and guidelines (the Antiquities Code of Texas). Survey and site identification followed Texas Antiquities Code standards; HRA Gray & Pape, LLC. secured a Texas Antiquities Permit (number 7110) prior to the completion of fieldwork as the Project area is located on property-owned by the City of Richmond.

The Area of Potential Effects for this Project is defined as the entire approximately 3.72- hectare (9.2-acre) Project area, composed primarily of a channelized drainage ditch with wooded areas adjacent to the margins of the Project area. Field investigations consisted of a combination of pedestrian survey and subsurface testing, resulting in the excavation of a total of 4 shovel tests in an area that appeared to include intact soils. In addition, a total of 3 backhoe trenches were excavated within the Project area to investigate deeply buried Holocene deposits and evaluate the potential for deeply buried archaeological deposits. HRA Gray & Pape, LLC. also focused attention on the adjacent Morton Cemetery and potential impacts to marked and unmarked burials within the fenced area of the cemetery property in designing its fieldwork methods for the Project; however, following consultation with BioWest staff, the Project boundary has been amended to exclude the fenced cemetery property and is depicted in its final amended configuration in the following report.

No newly recorded historic or prehistoric cultural resources were identified during the survey. Therefore, HRA Gray & Pape, LLC. recommends no further cultural resources work within the surveyed Project area.

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