2002-06-05_PERMIT FILE - M2002004 (3)

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Proposed Limestone Quarry Access Road and Overview Cultural Resources Inventory t The ditch is about 20 ft wide at the top, 5 ft wide at the bottom, and 15-20 ft deep. The ditch ' extends north and northeast to a single ranch on land that was homesteaded by Eastly D. Edson. A homestead patent was granted to Edson on January 23, 1879 (Accession Number COCOAA 079885). The water right for the Edson Ditch was appropriated on December 31, 1867. This is consistent with the general process of homesteading in which the land has to be proved. This is ' accomplished by constructing buildings, ditches, and reservoirs, and putting land into production. Not until the land had been proved, often taking seven or more years, would the government grant the patent. ' The ditch is currently active for a decreed amount of 1.5 cubic feet per second and priority number 37. It is not particularly old, at 1.5 miles total length it is not particularly long, and it appears to serve a single ranch. For these reasons, it is recommended that Site 5LN1491.1 be considered not eligible for the NRHP and no further work should be required. 5LN4192 Montoya Homestead 1 This site consists of a foundation and artifact scatter covering 3,500 sq. m (0.86 acres). It is situated on a terrace overlooking the St. Charles River to the north at an elevation of 1,664 m (4,860 ft amsl). The foundation is constructed of slabs of limestone uniformly laid to form a rectangle measuring 20 by 20 ft. Only a single course of material was observed. The foundation is surrounded by a scatter of artifacts that appear to be concentrated to the east of ' the foundation. A concentration of window glass sherds was observed along the north side of the foundation. Artifacts observed at the site included over 100 sherds of purple bottle glass, over 100 sherds of white-glazed earthenware, dozens of bricks and brick fragments, dozens of brown bottle glass sherds, dozens of sherds of dark brown glazed stoneware, dozens of sherds of aqua bottle glass, several railroad spikes, two square cut nails, and one fence nail. According to the General Land Office (GLO) patent records, this site is located within the 160 ' acres for which a Surveyor General Certificate was grated to Alabama State and Jose de la Cruz Montoya (Accession Number COCOAA 077680). The patent was issued in on November 7, 1872, and it covered the SE '/4 of the SE % of Section 1, T22S, R65W: the N %2 of the NE '/a and the SW'/4 of the NE'/4 of Section 12, T22S, R65W. The eastern edge of the site corresponds with a deeply cut arroyo. It is likely that trash was ' deposited in this drainage, explaining the concentration on the east side of the house. It is also likely that periodic flooding of the arroyo swept out any debris on a regular basis. The cutbank of the arroyo, anthills, and small erosional rills were examined for evidence of subsurface ' deposits, but none was observed. The foundation feature is vernacular in nature and there does not appear to be any archaeological potential. It is recommended that Site 5PE4192 be considered not eligible for the NRHP and no further work should be required. Additional Historical Information on the Proposed Project Area and Surroundings Mexico granted large tracts of lands to settlers willing to help develop its northern frontier. The ' Nolan Grant was centered along the St. Charles River, and several areas to the north of the project area are still identified as such on the USGS Southeast Pueblo topographic quadrangle map. The GLO patent records indicate that portions of the project area were originally patented as part of the Nolan Grant. These lands were granted to Gervacio Nolan by Mexico. This grant was supposed to be settled, but for the most part this never occurred. Settlements were made I URS 10