Cultural Resources Survey for a 9.1-Acre Tract at Granbury, Hood County, Texas

This report documents the substantive findings and management recommendations of a cultural resources inventory conducted by AmaTerra Environmental, Inc. (AmaTerra) for the 9.1-acre tract in Granbury, Hood County, Texas. As a federal grant has been provided to the developer by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the project will be subject to the provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, as amended. The goal of the survey was to locate, identify, and assess any cultural resources that could be adversely affected by proposed development, and to evaluate such resources for their potential eligibility for listing in the National Register for Historic Places (NRHP) or eligibility for listing as a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL). All work conformed to 36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 800, and 13 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) 26, which outline the regulations for implementing the Section 106 of the NHPA and the ACT, respectively. The cultural resources inventory was conducted by archeologist Joshua Hamilton and architectural historian Erica Howard on June 27, 2017. The entirety of the project area or Area of Potential Effects (APE) was subjected to visual inspection supplemented by shovel tests in order to evaluate the cultural resources located within the project area. During the survey, one prehistoric lithic scatter and one historic-aged cultural resource were documented within the 9.1-acre APE. Based on our research and field assessment, the prehistoric lithic scatter (41HD94) is recommended to be not eligible for listing on the NRHP or as a SAL. The historic-age resource is identified as the Old Ferry Master’s Cabin and is recommended as eligible for listing in the NRHP under Criterion A at the local level with Criteria Consideration B for a building removed from its original location. The cabin has historically been associated with the water and rural setting. Current development of the area does not include using the cabin nor moving it to another location, and the cabin has been donated to the City of Granbury for their use. The proposed HUD development project has been approved by the City. Even though the cabin will not be relocated, the proposed development construction would change the historic view shed of the cabin, the association with the water, and remote feel of the cabin. Thus, the integrity of association would be impacted by the proposed project. Since the proposed undertaking would result in direct impacts to the integrity of setting, feeling, association, a finding of adverse effects is recommended for the Old Ferry Master’s Cabin. Should the proposed project change in scope or design, the potential to affect the historic-age resource should be taking into consideration. No artifacts were collected as part of this survey. All records will be curated at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory (TARL). No further work is warranted; however, if any cultural resources, other than those documented within this report, are unearthed during construction, the operators should stop construction activities, and immediately contact the project environmental representative to initiate coordination with the THC prior to resuming any construction activities