Short Report on an Intensive Archeological Survey for the City Of Lockhart’s Proposed Sidewalk Improvements Project, Lockhart, Caldwell County, Texas

• Main Authors: Haefner, Josh, Sarich, Steven
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: SFA ScholarWorks 2019
• Subjects: Texas; Archaeology; Caldwell County; American Material Culture; American Studies; Anthropology; Archaeological Anthropology; Environmental Studies; History; History of Art; Architecture; and Archaeology; Other American Studies; Other Arts and Humanities; Other History of Art; United States History; Caldwell; Lockhart; Archeological Survey
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/ita/vol2019/iss1/25; https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2447&context=ita

On behalf of the City of Lockhart (the City), TRC Environmental Corporation (TRC) recently conducted an intensive archeological survey for the City’s sidewalk improvements project located in Lockhart, Caldwell County, Texas. According to design plans, the project will entail the construction of a 10-foot (ft) wide by 2,220 ft long concrete sidewalk that will enhance connectivity and accessibility through Lockhart City Park (Figures 1-1 and 1-2). The Area of Potential Effects (APE) is 0.98 acres in size (Appendix A: Design Plans). Concrete path construction will cause disturbance of up to one foot below the existing grade along the alignment of the path. As the project will be located on lands under purview of an entity of the State of Texas, the project is subject to compliance with the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT). During coordination with the Texas Historical Commission (THC) it was determined that the APE located east of State Highway (Hwy) 183 would require survey prior to construction (Appendix B: Regulatory Correspondence). Archeological survey was conducted on October 8, 2019 by Benjamin Johnson and Steven Sarich and on October 17, 2019 by Pollyanna Clark, Josh Haefner, Benjamin Johnson and Steven Sarich. During the survey, five shovel tests were excavated and four no dig locations were recorded. Due to the proximity of the APE to marked graves, the presence of the broken grave marker deposited downslope, and the inaccuracy of the currently mapped cemetery boundary on the THC Atlas, TRC recommended that the portion of the APE that coincides with the Lockhart Cemetery be subject to machine scraping. On November 5, 2019 the survey area was revisited to conduct mechanical scraping where the APE was noted to be in proximity to marked burials. No evidence of any cultural materials or grave shafts were encountered during monitoring of scraping.