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Texas Historical Commission
Abstract
This report documents the substantive findings and management recommendations of an archeological survey conducted by Integrated Environmental Solutions, LLC (IES) in preparation for an easement disposal by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Galveston District (SWG) within property owned by the Port of Victoria (POV), in Victoria County, Texas. An archeological survey was requested by the USACE as part of the overall National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Categorical Exclusion documentation process, which subsequently required compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). Additionally, as the POV is a political subdivision of the State of Texas, the project is subject to the provisions of the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT). Although no ground disturbing activities are included in this undertaking, the POV seeks to conduct coordination with the Texas Historical Commission (THC) for the easement disposal areas to facilitate future development of the property. To satisfy USACE-SWG and THC requirements for the easement disposal, IES conducted an archeological inventory of the easement disposal tracts.
The proposed easement disposal tracts are located adjacent to the Pickering Basin near the northern terminus of the Victoria Barge Canal, in southern Victoria County, Texas. The project area or Area of Potential Effects (APE) encompasses the proposed easement disposal area, consisting of five tracts totaling 193.34 acres (ac). The goal of this survey was to locate archeological sites that could be adversely affected by the proposed and anticipated development, and to provide an evaluation of the eligibility potential of each identified resource for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) or for designation as a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL). This survey was conducted between 09 and 13 September 2019. All work conformed to 36 Code of Federal Regulations 800.4 and 13 Texas Administrative Code 26, which outlines the regulations for implementing Section 106 of the NHPA and the ACT, respectively, and was conducted under Antiquities Permit No. 9048. During this survey, backhoe trenching was conducted within a 78-ac portion of the APE. Pedestrian transect survey and systematic shovel testing was conducted within a 12-ac portion of the APE. The remaining 103.34-ac portion of the APE has experienced extensive previous disturbance due to the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Victoria Barge Canal and its associated facilities.
No archeological sites were encountered within the APE during this survey. No artifacts were collected during this survey. All project-related records will be temporarily stored at the IES McKinney office and permanently curated at the Museum of the Coastal Bend in Victoria, Texas. No further archeological investigation or evaluation of the APE is recommended. However, if any archeological resources are encountered during construction, the operators should stop construction activities, and immediately contact the project environmental representative to initiate coordination with the USACE-SWG Regulatory Archeologist and the THC prior to resuming any construction activities in the vicinity of the inadvertent discovery.
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