Sixmile Creek Drainage Improvements, Project SA-43 Bexar County, Texas

On June 2–3, 2014, Prewitt and Associates, Inc., conducted an archeological survey for proposed drainage improvements along a ca. 2,800-foot (ft) (853 meter [m]) segment of the Sixmile Creek channel downstream from Roosevelt Avenue in San Antonio, Texas. Desktop research and an earlier field reconnaissance found that the Area of Potential Effects (APE) has little to no potential of yielding significant archeological resources based on the geologic and geomorphic setting and twentieth-century channel and landscape modifications. Based on these findings, the current investigations focused on two known cultural resources near the APE: the Stinson #1 cemetery (part of 41BX789) and the ca. 1925 Airport Captain’s House. The Stinson #1 cemetery is outside the APE. Investigations consisting of mechanical scraping and trenching in a search for unmarked graves focused on the area between the cemetery and the APE. No unmarked graves were found. The standing structures associated with the Airport Captain’s House, which consist of a house and garage, are outside the APE, but residential debris, most likely associated with the use of these structures, was observed scattered across the surface and intersecting the APE. The standing structures, along with the historic artifact scatter, were recorded as archeological site 41BX2010. As an archeological resource, it is recommended that 41BX2010 be judged ineligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (under Criterion D) or designation as a State Antiquities Landmark. The standing structures at the site, however, are eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A. Because of this, project-related impacts to the structures should be avoided, and a buffer zone of at least 30 meters (m) (100 ft) should be demarcated around the structures during project construction. By creating a buffer zone, no eligible cultural resources will be impacted, and it is recommended that the proposed project be allowed to proceed as planned. No artifacts requiring curation were collected during the survey