Appendix G_Draft Archaeological Survey Report.pdf

Eric Englin Volpe National Transportation Systems Center US Department of Transportation 55 Broadway Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142

Kevin Bradley, MA, RPA New South Associates, Inc.

3975 University Dr, Suite 120 Fairfax, Virginia 22030

(703) 568-4115

Phase IA Archeological Overview for the Proposed Rehabilitation of the George

Washington Memorial Parkway (South Section) and Mount Vernon Trail

Draft Summary of the north section of the study area from Theodore Roosevelt Island to north Old Town

Alexandria along the Mount Vernon Trail.

Project Purpose

New South Associates, Inc. (NSA) is in the process of conducting a Phase IA Archeological Overview for the proposed rehabilitation of the George Washington Memorial Parkway (South Section) (GWMP) and the Mount Vernon Trail (MVT) on behalf of the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe) and the National Park Service (NPS). This study will help fulfill federal agency responsibilities under Section 106 of the 1966 National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), as amended (54 U.S.C. 306108), NHPA Section 110 federal agency responsibilities (54 U.S.C. §§ 306101-306114), and the 1979 Archeological Resources Protection Act, as amended.

The stated goals of the project are to assess and synthesize previous archeological investigations and findings and identify potential resources within the project limits of disturbance (50-foot buffer along the MVT, 250-ft buffer along the GWMP). Potential adverse effects to any known or suspected resources will also be identified, as will data gaps in the archeological record. NSA will make management recommendations for any additional survey or excavation work necessary to fulfill compliance obligations for the project.

This submission represents a request by Volpe that NSA provide a draft summary of the overview conducted to date, specifically information gathered on the north section of the project area from Theodore Roosevelt Island (TRI) to north Old Town Alexandria along the MVT. The results presented below should not be considered a final product as research is ongoing and the analysis and assessment will assuredly evolve as additional data is considered. NSA hopes that the document will serve its purpose in providing useful insights and recommendations related to the archeological sensitivity of the study area to entities who require such information to effectively and responsibly operate within state and federal guidelines.

Study Area

While the full scope of work for this project involves an overview and assessment of the length of the

GWMP, including a 250-ft buffer, south of Alexandria, the study area for the purposes of this draft summary is limited to the 50-ft buffer along the MVT from TRI to north Old Town Alexandria (Figure 1).

The MVT is a mostly paved, multi-use corridor providing an avenue for pedestrians and cyclists to travel along the scenic and historic GWMP route between George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and TRI.

Figure 1

The trail is one of the most popular multi-use trails in the country. As it was originally constructed in the

1970s and 1980s, NPS recognizes the need for maintenance and improvements along the trail.

According to the Scope of Work, this project will address deferred maintenance needs and improve safety along with the GWMP South Section. Work on the Mt. Vernon Trail includes mitigating tree root impacts, eliminating weed encroachment, milling and widening trail pavement, providing new pavement markings, signage improvements, providing new wooden benches and drinking fountains, removing tree overhangs, mitigating tidal flooding issues, and improving drainage.

Review of the study area for this draft summary has been divided into geographic sections to provide a more localized review of distinct areas along the MVT, allowing for a more manageable and ultimately useful reference. Nearby archeological resources relevant to the entirety of the study area are presented in one table below attached.

See attachment for previously identified archeological sites within roughly one mile of the study area.

Columbia Island

The northernmost extent of the study area is the intersection of the MVT and the southern end of the

TRI parking lot. From the TRI parking lot, the MVT follows the Potomac River shoreline south primarily along an elevated walkway across mudflats and underneath the I-66 bridge before crossing the

Boundary Channel inlet. The trail continues south across Columbia Island for approximately 1.5 miles before recrossing the Boundary Channel outlet (Figure 2).

The history and development of Columbia Island was included in several previous studies, including

Cissna (1990), the Lady Bird Johnson, NPS Cultural Landscapes Inventory (2005), Harris (2008), and

Raszick and Bedell (2018).

Background

The following summary of Columbia Island is generally summarized from information provided in the

Lady Bird Johnson Park, NPS Cultural Landscapes Inventory (2005).

Columbia Island in its current state is an entirely artificial landform just south of TRI. Presently the island functions as a memorial landscape featuring the Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on the

Potomac, Potomac Park, and the Columbia Island Marina. Several thoroughfares also traverse the island including Arlington and Washington Boulevards and the GWMP, as well as serving as the western abutment of the Arlington Memorial Bridge. The landscape gently slopes from approximately 30 feet

(ft) above mean sea level (amsl) in the center of the island to the river on the east and the Boundary

Channel on the west.

Prior to the early twentieth century, the Potomac River was approximately 900 ft wide north of the fall line, near Georgetown. Once crossing the fall line, the river widened to roughly 5,000 ft consisting of shallow shoals and deep channels. Historic maps and images of the area immediately south of TRI

(formerly known as Analostan and then Mason’s Island) depicts a silt bar and mudflats created from alluvial deposits (Figure 3). Given the presence of nearby precontact sites, it is conceivable that the mudflats and shoals along the historic Potomac shorelines were utilized by Native Americans in the area.

However, in 1892, a training dike was constructed in a failed attempt to increase the current’s flow through the main river channel, likely leading to an increase in the deposition of silt south of the island.

Figure 2a

Figure 2b

Figure 3

In 1915, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) began massive dredging operations of the main navigation channel creating artificial banks through the deposition of silt and significantly narrowing the river below the fall line. The silt bar and mudflats south of TRI likely served as a base for the dredging spoils pulled from the river bottom. Columbia Island began to take shape as a result of these activities and by 1927 the island had been filled to an average elevation of 20 ft amsl, burying any potential precontact archeological sites, if any existed at all (NPS Cultural Resource Inventory 2005: 21). Constant alterations to the newly created island were performed over the succeeding decades. In the 1920s the northern section of the island was straightened to improve river hydraulics and in the 1940s irregularities along the banks of the Boundary Channel were straightened, as well (NPS Cultural

Resource Inventory 2005: 39, 89). Destructive activities, such as these, would certainly have compromised the integrity of any archaeologically sensitive resources that were buried below the dredging material or along the edges of Columbia Island.

Previous Surveys

Cissna 1990

Cissna summarized the history and archeological potential of the GWMP primarily from TRI north to

Spout Run, however, he included portions of the parkway south of TRI. While no archeological investigation is listed as occurring within this project’s study area, Cissna describes the areas

“heightened” likelihood of precontact occupation, specifically around the marshy areas near the present location of the 14th Street Bridge and the Pentagon, the higher elevations in Rosslyn, and TRI (Cissna

1990: 7). However, Cissna acknowledges that it is quite likely that early precontact sites along the river edges were inundated, and potentially destroyed, as the river steadily rose beginning in the Archaic period. He further adds that the construction of the GWMP and other thoroughfares (and by extension, Columbia Island) also compromised the integrity, or destroyed, any sites that may have avoided inundation (Cissna 1990: 8).

Harris 2008

The focus of EAC Archaeology’s 2008 study was primarily Gravelly Point (formerly Alexander’s Island) and GWMP land just south of Gravelly Point along the western edge of the airport. However, the northern extent of the study area also crossed the Boundary Channel and included the southernmost tip of Columbia Island. Harris’ assessment of the area falls in line with Cessna’s earlier interpretation of the landscape. For centuries, the shores of the Potomac River would have been an attractive environment to Native American peoples, as well as European colonists and Americans. They make specific mention of several nearby previously identified precontact sites, including sites dating to the Late Archaic, and historic sites from the colonial period. However, like Cessna, evidence of extreme disturbance of the area is demonstrated throughout Harris’ survey leading to the conclusion that much of the study area no longer holds archeological potential, particular at relatively shallow depths (i.e., three to six ft below surface) (Harris 2008: 88-93).

As for the Columbia Island portion of the EAC Archeology study area, Harris acknowledges Columbia

Island as a twentieth-century construction and speculates that site 51SW010, a precontact site of unknown character and integrity located on the southern end of the island, is the product of redeposited soil (Harris 2008: 33).

Raszick and Bedell 2018

As part of a larger study, Louis Berger Group, Inc. (Berger) investigated an area along the GWMP adjacent to TRI and Columbia Island. Four survey areas were tested between the parkway and the

Metrorail line. None of the survey areas were within study area and all were on the opposite side of the

GWMP in Virginia. In total, 17 STPs were excavated, all of which encountered multiple deposits of fill before refusal from tightly packed fill or gravel, including units excavated within the boundaries of a previously identified site. Site 44AR008 was formerly recorded in 1968 and was characterized by artifact scatter, including precontact ceramics and lithics tools. Excavation by Berger, however, suggested that the entire area was most likely disturbed by fill and grading related to the construction of the GWMP and the Metro, as were all other areas tested (Raszick and Bedell 2018: 277-281). Site 44AR0057 was also identified as a result of this survey but is not described in the 2018 report. Site information does exist in V-CRIS and indicates that 44AR0057, like 44AR008, is likely disturbed as a result of nearby construction and would require mechanical excavation to determine if intact soils exist below fill.

Archeological Potential and Recommendations

Much of the land between TRI and the southern end of Columbia Island is a product of historical alterations to the natural riverine environment.

A short 350-ft stretch of the MVT exists on ground between the TRI parking lot and an elevated walkway and as best can be determined has never been tested. Though the integrity of the area was likely compromised as a result of construction of the Mount Vernon Memorial Highway (later renamed

GWMP), subsurface testing is needed to confirm that assumption. Should any ground disturbing activities related to the maintenance of the MVT be planned for this area it is recommended that archaeological investigations precede the work.

A 1,400-ft long elevated pathway conveys the trail over mudflats along the river’s edge. Maintenance to the walkway presents no threat to archaeological resources and nineteenth and twentieth century modifications to the riverbank near TRI likely left the mudflats with little to no archeological potential.

Therefore, no additional testing is recommended in this area.

Between the elevated pathway and the Boundary Channel inlet (roughly 500 ft) is a grassy area that as best can be determined has never been tested. Though the integrity of the area was likely compromised as a result of construction of the GWMP and modifications to the riverbank, subsurface testing is needed to confirm that assumption. Should any ground disturbing activities related to the maintenance of the MVT be planned for this area it is recommended that archaeological investigations precede the work.

The MVT continues south along Columbia Island for approximately 1.5 miles. Given the nature of the island as made land constructed from dredging fill in the early twentieth century this section of the study area possesses no archeological potential. Therefore, no additional testing is recommended.

No additional testing is recommended along much of the MVT within this section of the study area.

However, despite the demonstrated level of disturbance to the natural stratigraphy of the area, the documented presence of precontact activity, as well as historic occupations, in the immediate surroundings suggests that isolated deposits of archeological remains may in fact survive below the surface. Approximately 850 ft between two sections (350 and 500 ft) of the MVT was constructed on land ostensibly spared from any drastic alterations (Figure 4). Since no previous archeological testing has proved otherwise, it remains a possibility that these areas possess stratigraphic integrity and hold moderate archeological potential. To gain a better understanding of these areas along the MVT, additional investigation is required and recommended should any ground disturbing activities be planned within the study area.

Alexander’s Island/Gravelly Point

Columbia Island is separated from Virginia by Boundary Channel on its west. A shared bridge (Humpback

Bridge) conveys the trail and the GWMP from the island over the Boundary Channel outlet to Virginia.

Here the trail continues along the bank of the Potomac River underneath a series of bridges where it rings the recreation area, Gravelly Point, before turning south towards the Ronald Regan Washington

National Airport (the National Airport) (Figure 5).

The history and development of this section of the study area was included in several previous studies, including Louis Berger Group, Inc. (2005), Harris (2008), Shellenhammer (2014), McCloskey et. al. (2016), and Kreisa and Marzella (2018).

Background

EAC Archeology provided a detailed overview of the development of the land that the MVT sits on between Columbia Island and the National Airport in a 2008 archeological assessment (Harris 2008).

Below is a summary of the relevant information regarding the landform development and use of the property as it relates to the archeological sensitivity of the area.

Currently, the soils that makeup Alexander’s Island/Gravelly Point are characterized as Urban Land-

Udorthents, consisting of extensive paving and building development. Natural soil profiles are typically affected by cut and fill modifications. Prior to the urbanization of the study area, though, soils generally consisted of loams (Huntington and Keyport), as well as clay deposits (Harris 2008: 6).

Early maps indicate that this section of the study area was at one point a low-lying floodplain surrounded by marshes that likely separated the higher elevations of the floodplain from the mainland to the west during high tide. Given the steady rise in sea level during the precontact period (between approximately 13,000 and 500 years ago), it’s likely that the floodplain was at one point a low terrace feature that was slowly inundated by the rising waters of the Potomac. Based on sea level rise models, though, Harris suggests that the floodplain was not separated from the higher elevations to the west by marshland until sometime around 1,000 years ago, indicating that the landscape would have been accessible and an attractive location to precontact populations at least up until the later Woodland

Period (ca. AD 1000 to 1600). The accuracy of this assessment is borne out by the numerous precontact sites identified in the general area. It is therefore possible, if not likely, that the area in the precontact period was the site of camps or resource exploitation. In fact, Harris notes several collections held in

Smithsonian and referenced through map projections by S.V. Proudfit and the Potomac River

Archaeological Survey that are identified as originating from or in the vicinity of Alexander’s Island, though the exact locations of these finds is indeterminable (Harris 2008: 33-24). However, the absence of identified precontact sites within the vicinity of the study area recorded in V-CRIS speaks to the level of historic disturbance that has occurred on Alexander’s Island/Gravelly Point.

Figure 4

Figure 5a

Figure 5b

Based on review of historic maps, Harris indicates that the study area experienced little change during the historic period prior to the twentieth century. Over the last century, however, major developments greatly affected the character of the area. Low-lying areas around the “island” were gradually filled increasing the elevation throughout the floodplain, including along the shorelines. A 1925 Interstate

Commerce Commission (ICC) railroad valuation map also indicates that sand and gravel mining occurred on Alexander’s Island/Gravelly Point drastically altering the landscape, though the extent of the activity has not been determined (Harris 2008: 11) (Figure 6). The effects of sand and gravel mining are evident in historic images and maps, particularly during the 1920s, when much of the landform was inundated as a result of the river spilling into the mined areas (Figure 7). Filling resumed, reclaiming some of the previously flooded land, in part as a result of trash being dumped within the marshlands and along the banks of the Potomac.

Another notable change to the landscape occurred beginning in the 1930s as the GWMP was constructed along the shoreline (Figure 8). Harris notes the enormous amounts of fill deposited to support the highway and the effects on the landform. Not only does the construction of the highway create a narrow-raised berm roughly following the historic edge of the floodplain, but the alignment of the highway formed a barrier across the mouth of a stream originating from the current location of Long

Bridge Park, effectively creating, in combination with the flooded area from mining activities, the large pond identified today as the Roaches Run Waterfowl Sanctuary. Infilling continued around streambeds and marshlands south of the pond and in the 1950s the NPS deposited additional hydraulic fill along the southeastern shore expanding Gravelly Point into the river, though additional filling occurred over the last half of the twentieth century as evidenced by the increase in dry ground between the GWMP and the river.

Previous Surveys

Louis Berger Group, Inc. 2005

Berger conducted a Phase I archeological investigation for the NPS prior to the construction of a proposed boathouse in Arlington County, Virginia, between 2004 and 2005. Five sites were considered for the location of the boathouse, including an area adjacent to the 14th Street Bridge, immediately south of Long Bridge - the existing CSX railroad bridge. The survey area included the grassy area between the GWMP and the MVT, before veering away from the trail, remaining adjacent to the parkway. The investigation included a shovel test survey, mechanical trenching, geoarcheological probes, as well as remote sensing offshore.

Seven shovel tests, 13 mechanical trenches and numerous soil probes were excavated within the survey area. Nearly all excavations encountered fill at depths exceeding three ft and the water table in some around six ft below the surface. Three trenches, however, encountered structural debris and one uncovered part of a stone and brick foundation (identified as site 44AR0037) (Figure 9). Based on their review of nineteenth-century historical maps, Berger suggested the remains comprising 44AR0037 were associated with the occupation of the ca. 1841 to 1904 Jackson City community (Berger 2005:101)

(Figure 10). Subsoil was encountered between five and six ft below the surface, but no archeology deposits were identified outside the foundation. The northern edge of site 44AX0037, which remains unevaluated for NHRP eligibility, intersects the 50-ft buffer along the MVT. Though the fill encountered in the Berger trenches nearest the MVT suggest that the trail resides overtop of made land.

Figure 6 (Harris 2008)

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Harris 2008

Harris conducted an archeological assessment of an area that includes the 50-ft buffer along the MVT between Columbia Island and the National Airport. The study was conducted as part of an environmental assessment for the proposed North Tract County Park in Arlington County. Harris conducted archival research of the subject area, including a review of historical maps, photographs, and aerial images and prepared precontact and historic period contexts based on the findings. Harris then assessed the study area for archeological site potential. No excavation was performed as part of this archeological assessment.

As a result of the survey, Harris assessed that there was a potential for precontact Native American, antebellum, Civil War, and post-bellum resources. Though Harris addresses the highly disturbed nature of the study area as a result of natural activities (site inundation due to sea level rise and tidal erosion), as well as historic development (sand and gravel mining, the construction of numerous bridges, the construction of the GWMP, and numerous cut and fill episodes), she concluded that the potential for deeply buried resources, or the isolated presence of historic resources, exists within the study area.

Harris recommended that additional excavations at the site previously identified by Berger (44AR0037) be considered in advance of future ground disturbing activities, as well as any other deeply intrusive projects.

Shellenhammer 2014

In 2014, Berger conducted an archeological identification and evaluation of site 44AR0051. The site, Roaches Run Shipwreck, is a late nineteenth or early twentieth-century shipwreck within Roaches Run

Waterfowl Sanctuary. The wreck was determined likely to be a work boat or small transport vessel, possibly related to the gravel and sand mining operations identified by Harris in 2008, intentionally stripped and burned after its abandonment in Roaches Run. STPs excavated adjacent to the site encountered modern fill deposits over subsoil and did not identify any intact historic cultural strata. This site is approximately 500 ft south of the current study area.

McCloskey et. al. 2016

Dovetail Cultural Resource Group (Dovetail) conducted a Phase IB archeological survey along segments of the Washington, DC to Richmond High Speed Rail (DC2RVA) project in 2014. Areas, including the CSX right-of-way that runs through Alexander’s Island/Gravelly Point and across the GWMP and MVT, were subject to pedestrian survey, subsurface testing, and metal detecting in selected locations. Dovetail established that much of survey area was disturbed by modern development, including buried utility corridors and grading associated with the creation of the railroad berm. Dovetail also confirmed the presence of site 44AR0037 (Jackson City). While Dovetail suggested that additional remains associated with Jackson City may still exist below surface outside the APE, subsurface disturbances within the APE likely compromised the integrity of any potential archeological remains.

Kreuger and Dean 2017

NPS conducted an underwater archeological assessment as part of the Arlington Memorial Bridge

Rehabilitation Project. The assessment involved an analysis of the level of the Potomac River as recorded on several late nineteenth-century maps and modern navigation charts. The river levels along the shoreline adjacent to Long Bridge were also included in most of the maps used in the analysis.

Results confirmed historic records and accounts that significant dredging took place within the main channel of the river in the late nineteenth century. As discussed, relating to the creation of Columbia

Island, dredged material was used to create new shorelines along the Potomac, which includes the area along Alexander’s Island/Gravelly Point. This change is readily apparent in the alterations of the shoreline seen in historic maps. The assessment based on the survey conducted by NPS is that there is a low potential for intact submerged archeological resources along the Potomac shoreline adjacent to

Long Bridge and the surrounding shoreline.

Kreisa and Marzella 2018

Stantec Consulting Services (Stantec) conducted a Phase IA archeological site assessment of the Long

Bridge Project in the District of Columbia and Virginia on behalf of the Federal Railroad Administration and the District Department of Transportation. The project consisted of potential improvements to Long

Bridge and related railroad infrastructure. The assessment included preparing a precontact and historic context of the project area, a review of previously conducted archeological surveys and identified sites, and an evaluation of the changing Potomac River levels.

Generally, Stantec considered the vicinity around the project area to have high potential for precontact archeological sites due to its location along Potomac River. They also identified the historical location of

Jackson City (site 44AR0037) as an area of high potential for historic archeological resources within the

APE based on a review of historic maps. After considering factors such as the results from previous surveys, the rise of the Potomac River, and modern development, Stantec isolated two areas within

Alexander’s Island/Gravelly Point that were considered areas of high archeological potential. A strip of land between the eastern edge of the CSX right-of-way and the Roaches Run Waterfowl Sanctuary pond is considered high potential for precontact resources, albeit under fill associated with the construction of the rail line berm. Stantec also considered the area adjacent to the GWMP parkway within the APE as high potential due to the location of site 44AR0037 and the confirmed presence of remains associated with Jackson City (Berger 2005). Stantec considered all other areas in the vicinity of the MVT to possess low to no archeological potential.

Archeological Potential and Recommendations

The land along the Potomac River between Columbia Island and the Ronald Regan National Airport has undergone significant alterations throughout history. The nature of the landform prior to persistent

European occupation was likely utilized by precontact populations, first probably as a low, but dry, terrace along the river during the Paleoindian and possibly Early Archaic period. As environmental conditions changed and the Potomac steadily rose, the terrace gradually transitioned to an intermittently wet and marshy floodplain until roughly the Woodland Period when the river maintained its level. As previously discussed, the landscape along the Potomac shores would have been attractive to precontact populations as campsites or ideal locations for resource exploitation. However, it is unlikely the archeological resources associated with precontact habitation survived the drastic development that occurred within the area during the twentieth century, particularly within the 50-ft buffer of the MVT.

After crossing Humpback Bridge over the Boundary Channel outlet, the MVT hugs the shoreline and runs underneath the series of bridges that cross the Potomac River. The roughly 2,000 ft of the trail from

Humpback Bridge to Long Bridge almost certainly rests on top of made land as the shoreline was filled to accommodate the construction of an increasing number of modern developments, including the GWMP.

Aerial images and historic maps between the 1920s and the 1930s plainly show the infilling of the

Potomac in the area, evidently with city trash as well as Potomac dredgings. Later fill episodes were undertaken in the last half of the twentieth century until the shoreline resembled its current state

(Harris 2008: 11) (Figure 11). In addition to infilling along the shoreline, the rerouting and new construction of bridges in the early twentieth century also represented significant disturbances along the existing landform. Structures depicted in several nineteenth-century maps along the bridge abutments, including the Civil War-era Fort Jackson and those later associated with Jackson City, were destroyed most likely to make way for new bridge alignments approximately 300 ft north (Berger 2005:

73). Despite these conditions, it is possible that deeply buried precontact resources are present below the fill and present-day water line, given the knowledge that the Potomac was appreciably lower historically. Harris suggests the same and the area is outlined as such in the predictive model presented in 2008 (Figure 12). However, unless ground disturbing activities associated with maintenance of the

MVT extend no more than roughly 4 to 6 ft, there is likely no risk to potential archeological deposits.

The MVT continues along the Potomac shoreline for about 4,000 ft from Long Bridge, around Gravelly

Point, before veering west towards the GWMP, then turning south along the parkway towards the

National Airport. It is here that the only recorded archeological site within the study area intersects the

50-ft buffer of the MVT. As drawn, site 44AR0037 (Jackson City) is bounded by the CSX rail line on its western edge, continuing approximately 300 ft east, and extends from the sanctuary pond north to the

MVT. Berger suggests that the brick foundation identified in one of the 13 trenches excavated is associated with a post-bellum structure of Jackson City, based on an analysis of historic maps and the observed bricks. An examination of the stratigraphy outside the foundation also suggested that the structure and surrounding landscape were bulldozed at some point removing any associated features or archeological deposits. The presence of the brick foundation approximately 5.5 ft below modern fill, however, indicates that subsurface archeological features may persist to the east of Long Bridge. Of relevance to the MVT, to identify the historic shoreline Berger located six trenches approximately 60 to

75 ft from the current shoreline. Each trench was excavated through twentieth-century fill until encountering the water table between four and six ft below surface, indicating infilling along the shoreline. The MVT sits between the river and these trenches and Berger’s investigation suggests that the historic shoreline existed approximately 80 to 100 ft from the current shoreline and the MVT (Berger

2005: 101-105).

Historic map analysis demonstrates that much of the rest of the current shoreline around Gravelly Park is a product of modern infilling. The geoarcheological and STP surveys conducted by Berger as part of the 2004 boathouse study also indicate that even the land near the center of Gravelly Point is comprised of significant fill deposits and is primarily made land. However, historic maps indicate the presence of higher elevation areas on Alexander’s Island that may retain some archeological potential buried underneath the fill. Maps that recorded the historic depths of the Potomac River around Alexander’s

Island/Gravelly Point also indicate that the shoreline was characterized mostly by low-lying floodplains or mudflats, areas that would potentially have been the site of precontact population activities.

Likewise, these resources may be sealed beneath layers of modern fill. In fact, Harris’ predictive model suggests a broad area beneath the MVT along the southern end of Gravelly Point holds potential for deeply buried precontact resources.

Like previous sections of the trail, though, the potential for adverse effects to possible archeological resources due to maintenance along the majority of the MVT in this section of the study area is low. As

Figure 11a

Figure 11b

Figure 12 (Harris 2008) it is primarily located on made land, future projects not exceeding a depth of roughly four to six ft below surface within the 50-ft buffer of the MVT pose little threat of disturbing deeply buried deposits.

Therefore, additional archeological investigation or excavation is unnecessary for most of this section along the MVT. It is recommended, however, that a portion of the study area be investigated prior to the commencement of any ground disturbing activities. The northern limits of site 44AR0037 extend into the 50-ft buffer of the MVT near Long Bridge. Several studies have suggested that the site may be

NHRP eligible. Berger demonstrated that archeological resources may persist below layers of modern fill and any additional information recovered relating to the site would inform its eligibility (Figure 13).

Ronald Regan Washington National Airport

The MVT closely follows the GWMP as it exits Gravelly Point and skirts the western edge of the National

Airport. This stretch of trail runs approximately 1.7 miles south before crossing Four Mile Run on a bridge shared with the parkway (Figure 14). This section of trail exists within a narrow corridor between the GWMP and the National Airport facilities, often averaging less than 100 ft in width. The area is dominated by hardscapes associated with the airport (tarmacs, parking areas, etc.), the numerous roadways constructed to serve the airport, and the GWMP. The 50-ft buffer quite often extends into these developments. Within the buffer, however, exists isolated manicured grass areas with occasional tree covering. The landscape to the west of the GWMP is notable for its relatively open nature consisting of open grass and forested areas before encountering the CSX railroad and Crystal City. The northern portion of this area, adjacent to the southern end of the Roaches Run Waterfowl Sanctuary, has retained a wetland environment amidst all the modern development.

The MVT is occasionally conveyed over roadways via an elevated walkway before returning to level and comes within 700 ft of a previously recorded site, the Abingdon Plantation (44AR0018), which was determined eligible for the NHRP by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (VDHR). The remaining section of the trail prior to Four Mile Run exists between a narrow strip of land tightly bound by the GWMP on the west and the airport parking lots on the east.

The history and development of this section of the study area was included in several previous studies, including Parsons Management Consultants (1989), Harris (2008), Raszick and Bedell (2018), Pappas et.

al. (2021).

Background

The entirety of this section of the MVT rests on soil identified as Urban Land-Urdorthents complex.

These soils are charactered as moderately to well-drained soils that have been disturbed by modern development, including filling and paving (WSS 2023).

Similar to the discussion of precontact occupation in previous sections, the area around what would become the site of the GWMP and National Airport was an advantageous location for precontact activities. The terraces adjacent to the Potomac shoreline, the marshlands, and creeks would have been ideal for resource exploitation and, as Parsons suggested, could have served as the site of a village during the Woodland and Contact periods, if not earlier, as well (Parsons 1989: 12). Several examples of recorded or reported precontact sites in the vicinity suggest that the potential for precontact archeological deposits along the GWMP and MVT here are high. Though the recovery of such resources heavily depends on the degree and location of historic and modern development in the area.

Figure 13

Figure 14a

Figure 14b

The section of the study area adjacent to the National Airport also possesses potential for historic archeological resources. Early maps and archival research indicate that the landscape was not drastically altered by any force other than natural processes until the mid-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Mid-nineteenth-century historic maps show the tidal mouth of the Long Bridge Park stream as well as marshland spreading from a creek flowing south to north into the Potomac bordering the area to the north and bordered on the south by the mouth of Four Mile Run. The landform is bordered on the west by the mid-century Alexandria and Washington Turnpike/Railroad and to the east by the river.

Several domestic structures are identified on higher elevations within the peninsula.

The 1838 Kearny map identified three structures as belonging to “Gen. Hunter’s” on the high ground at the center of the peninsula. This is the NHRP eligible site, the Abingdon Plantation, which is discussed in greater detail below (Figure 15).

By 1900, ownership of the peninsula was subdivided amongst several entities, including two brick companies who possessed roughly 314 acres of the peninsula. Much of the local clay was extracted in the process of making bricks and the borrow pits subsequently filled, permanently destroying the integrity of a significant portion of the landscape. VHB, Inc. identifies these areas, as well as areas that were seemingly spared from excavation in a 1927 aerial image (Pappas et. al., 2021: 30-31) (Figure 16).

The next major alteration to the landscape was the construction of the initial length of the GWMP in the early 1930s. In order to convey the parkway from Gravelly Point across the tidal mouth of the Long

Bridge Park stream, an elevated road berm made of redeposited river dredging was created and extended approximately 1,500 ft across the shallow tidal mudflat directly south of Gravelly Point. Harris mentions that upon completion of the berm, the parkway embayed the tidal mouth, which combined with the inundated mining area to the north, formed the kidney-shaped pond present today in the

Roaches Run Waterfowl Sanctuary (Harris 2008: 88-89). To the south, the GWMP was likewise carried across the mouth of Four Mile Run into Alexandria over a constructed berm.

After the construction of the GWMP, several agencies within the federal government identified the low marshy land just south of Gravelly Point as the desired location for the National Airport. Prior to construction of the airport, however, the land had to be made suitable for the project. This included a massive grading and infilling undertaking to reclaim wetlands and even fill parts of the river itself, significantly expanding dry land into the Potomac. The berm carrying the GWMP across Gravelly Point and the tidal mouth of the Long Bridge Park stream was at one time surrounded by water on all sides.

After the construction of the airport, the berm was bordered entirely on the east side by newly made land for the airport runways and facilities, except for a small outlet for the tidal pond. Though the southern edge of the pond, on the western side of the GWMP, was subject to occasional small scale fill episodes the nature of that area remained relatively unchanged, despite urban encroachment from the west (Pappas et. al., 2021: 8-10). The berm to the south was likewise subsumed within the greater fill episode that provided the base for the airport, as was nearly the entirety of the mouth of Four Mile Run, leaving only a small outlet to the Potomac.

The initial placement of the GWMP tracked closely to the Potomac shoreline prior to the construction of the National Airport. The environment between the railroad and the GWMP appeared to be primarily wetlands, with at least two creeks flowing through the area, some land cleared for agricultural purposes, and a few domestic structures. With the construction of the airport beginning in the late 1930s, the

GWMP was relocated from the riverbank ending up roughly 1,000 ft to the west from its initial

Figure 15

Figure 16 (Pappas et. al. 2021) placement, essentially bisecting the original peninsula (Figure 17). Over the preceding decades airport infrastructure quickly filled the space to the east of the parkway and the MVT. While the construction and relocation of the GWMP and the MVT certainly had an effect on the landscape, there appears to be isolated areas along the parkway that avoided significant impacts, either from the construction of the parkway and airport facilities, clay extraction, or any of the associated fill and grading episodes.

Previous Surveys

Parsons Management Consultants 1989

Parsons conducted a Phase II archeological investigation of the Abingdon Plantation Site (44AR0018) for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority in 1989. The site as delineated today sits approximately

700 ft to the east of the MVT. Abingdon was a prominent plantation along the banks of the Potomac

River as early as the mid-eighteenth century, likely built by Gerard Alexander, the great-grandson of

John Alexander, for who the city is named. Over the following two centuries, Abingdon was first occupied by the Alexander family who eventually sold the plantation to John Parke Custis, George

Washington’s stepson, Martha Washington’s son from her first marriage, in 1778. The Custis and Stuart family (the latter name a result of a second marriage) resided at Abingdon for roughly 15 years before the property was reacquired by the Alexander family. Abingdon saw several changes in ownership throughout the nineteenth century, including the Hunter family who purchased the property in 1837

(see Figure 15). During the Civil War, the Hunters fled Abingdon to join the Confederate Army, leaving the plantation abandoned until Union troops moved in to occupy the site. The property was returned to the Hunter family after the Civil War who began selling off portions of the plantation. By 1900, Abingdon was owned by two brick manufacturers and while clay extraction drastically altered the surrounding landscape, twentieth century accounts reference the presence and condition of the colonial house

(Parsons 1989: 19-21). Interest and attempts made at restoring the historic structure in the early twentieth century were discussed, but in 1930 the Abingdon plantation house burned leaving only ruins and the foundation. Three years later a memorial plaque was placed on the site of the house.

Prior to the destruction of the Abingdon house, the federal government had already begun acquiring portions of the land surrounding the structure. In the 1920s, former Abingdon Plantation land was appropriated to make way for the GWMP. Several government agencies constructed facilities in the vicinity of the house in the late 1930s and construction of the National Airport began in the same decade. As is common with any major infrastructure project, the landscapes on which these facilities were developed was subject to massive grading and filling episodes. Parsons (1989: 21) notes that even in areas requiring less extensive ground disturbance, the topsoil was often removed and sold. Despite such disastrous implication for archeological resources associated with the Abingdon Plantation, an area on top of a grassy knoll was spared grading or topsoil removal. It was on this knoll that the remains of the plantation house sat.

In total, Parsons excavated eight test units and two test trenches recovering “significant prehistoric and eighteenth and nineteenth century resources”. Despite occasional disturbed contexts within the site, the presence of intact stratigraphy and features led to Parsons’ recommendation that the remains of the

Abingdon Plantation House were eligible for the NHRP (Parsons 1989).

Figure 17a

Figure 17b

Harris 2008

Harris’ archeological assessment, as discussed previously, briefly extends south of Gravelly Point into the current section of the study area being discussed.

Based on the predictive model created as part of the assessment and review of the historic documents available, Harris concluded that the portion of the study area that follows the GWMP and MVT trail south past the Long Bridge Park outlet does not possess any potential for historic era archeological resources. Harris concluded that it does, however, possess potential for precontact archeological resources. Though, given the environmental and historic alterations to the landscape in this particular area (i.e., inundation of wetlands through sea level rise, the infilling of areas as part of the construction of the GWMP and the National Airport) these resources would only exist under ft of modern fill and/or below the water table. As such, all but deep ground disturbing activities in the area would most likely avoid threatening any potential archeological resource.

Louis Berger Group, Inc. 2018

Berger’s study area from the 2018 assessment along the GWMP included the stretch of the parkway adjacent to the National Airport. A detailed history of Abingdon Plantation was discussed, including the results of the Phase II excavation performed by Parsons in the 1980s (Raszick and Bedell 2018 Vol. I: 38-

41). No subsurface testing was conducted along the GWMP, though. Berger also briefly mentions site

44AX0207 (Campsite No. 1 or American Wagon Train 1781) centered around Four Mile Run, which is only to note that the placement of the site is unreliable as it is based on a map projection. Berger does mention, however, a reference by Proudfit of a precontact village on the landform now occupied by the

National Airport (Raszick and Bedell 2018 Vol II: 11). This, in addition to the precontact artifacts recovered during Parsons Phase II investigation, provides greater credibility to the assessment that this section of the study area possesses significant potential for precontact resources.

Pappas et. al. 2021

Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. (VBH) conducted a Phase IA archeological resources survey in 2021 on behalf of the Virginia Department of Transportation as part of the Crystal City to Ronald Regan

Washington National Airport Connection Study. The survey consisted of general background research, including environmental and historic contexts, as well as a review of previously recorded archeological and historical sites. In conclusion of the assessment, VBH presented their recommendations for further survey within the study area prior to any ground disturbance related to future projects. The study area was triangular in shape and was bound to the north by Roaches Run, to the south by the National

Airport Access Road, to the east by the National Airport terminals, and to the west by Crystal Drive. No subsurface testing was conducted as part of the Phase IA survey.

VBH’s review included a precontact context of the general region and a more focused context of the period after European colonization within their study area. A detailed review of the Abingdon Plantation history featured prominently in the assessment, understandably so, given the site’s location within the center of the study area. The drastic changes to the landscape as a result of the construction of the

GWMP, the National Airport, and the numerous federal structures, likewise was addressed. Of particular importance to this study, though, was VBH’s identification of clay borrow areas in early twentieth-century images (Pappas et. al. 2021: 22-23, 30). An awareness of such deeply intrusive alterations to the landscape is significant in understanding the potential (or lack thereof) for buried archeological resources. The clay borrow pits were refilled to level the ground and roadways, paths, and structures were constructed on top of them, including the GWMP and the MVT.

In VBH’s opinion, the exploitation and the development of the land within the study area since the late nineteenth century has severely compromised the ability to identify intact and significant archeological resources. VBH understandably expects there to be no potential for archeological resources within the footprint of the clay borrow pits, but also suggests the remaining undeveloped land within the study area possess a low probability for the presence of such resources. However, given the presence of a significant historical site within the study area, the existence of below ground remains associated with the Abingdon Plantation cannot be entirely ruled out. VBH recommends that additional close-interval shovel testing take place within the identified low-probability areas in advance for future ground disturbing projects (Pappas et. al. 2021: 30).

Archeological Potential and Recommendations

Perhaps no section of the study area has seen a more drastic alteration to its landscape than the site of the National Airport. The historic riverbank, if it still exists, is buried beneath asphalt, the airport, and a massive amount of fill. Open space to the west of the riverbank saw the construction of a turnpike, rail lines, the exploitation of clay deposits which were subsequently refilled, and the construction of the

GWMP and other access roads serving the airport. However, archeological investigation in the area proved that not all resources have been lost to development. The presence of precontact populations in the area was confirmed during the Phase II excavations at the Abingdon site (44AR0018) in the late

1980s. Historic archeological deposits and features identified during the same investigation also confirmed the presence of intact soil stratigraphy in discrete areas. While the chances that archeological resources of any type have survived or are recoverable underneath the infrastructure associated with the airport are low, it is possible that the open spaces along the GWMP and the MVT retain some subsurface integrity and potential for archeological remains.

As best can be determined, no additional subsurface…