HPC agenda 102799 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

addition,, potential sites such as prehistoric sites , a possible blacksmith shop (e . g. , Jackson Shops) and below ground remains of outbuildings and slave quarters have not been identified through the present architectural or archaeological projects . When these archaeological resources are considered in light of the present proposed National Register of Historic Places district boundaries (Figure 1 ) , it is clear that those boundaries wi11 have to be expanded to encompass those resources . For example, the presence of the Trading Path is an important justification for nominating the project area to the National Register of Historic Places . Archaeologists have identified the most well-preserved segment of the Trading Path at Ayr Mount Plantation. While pursuing the nomination of the St . Mary ' s Road Historic District to the National Register and/or as a local Orange County landmark, Orange County planners should consider if the corridor should be expanded to include Ayr Mount (and perhaps adjoining Montrose) plantation. These resources would be considered as contributing to the district, making the western part of St . Mary' s district noncontiguous . Within the present proposed boundaries, one of the more significant Trading Path segments appears to be found in the lands lying between the present St. Mary ' s Road and Buckwater (Buckquarter) Creek . Here there is evidence that there was an "Old" and `New" route of the path, even as early as the 1750s . Perusal of the 1938 aerial photographs of this region does indicate dark lines i imate n the approximate locations of the old and new trail, as drawn in earlier deed plats. A reconnaissance survey of part of this region (on the way to the stone quarry, 31 Or488 * * ) did not reveal any obvious signs of the old Trading Path on the ground . However, an intensive , systematic survey of this area may prove to reveal = physical traces of the old roadbeds . The proposed eastern boundaries of the St . Mary ' s Road Historic District may also have to be expanded, based on the results of future archaeological research. The present boundaries exclude potential cabin/farmstead and cemetery sites on Lockhill Farm, including the site of the Lockhart family ' s patriarch. The eastern boundary also does not include a by-passed road remnant and associated farmstead near the county line . One of the most interesting archaeological sites may prove to be 31 Or501 * * , a potential eighteenth-century tavern site . This site may also prove to be the home site of Michael Synnott, an important individual in the region ' s history. Future Archaeological Research Specific recommendations for archaeological research follow by site category. These are road remnants, taverns, churches and schools, cemeteries, quarries and mills, farmsteads and plantations, and prehistoric sites . Road Remnants- An intensive, systematic survey of the area south of the existing corridor in the vicinity of the Bacon and Walker farms should reveal physical traces of the "New" and "Old" eighteenth-century Trading Path. A program of systematic shovel testing, combined with further aerial photograph analysis should determine if any of these Trading Path remnants remain. Data from this work will help support the no of the St . Mary ' s Road Rural Historic District by verifying the presence of important eighteenth-century segments of the Trading Path. 47