Environmental Assessment Loop Road Part Three.pdf

This document is a Phase IA Archaeological Assessment report for the Manchester Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) located in Manchester, New Hampshire, prepared in February 2016 by R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates, Inc. for the Veterans Integrated Service Network 1 (VISN 1) VA Center in Augusta, Maine.

The assessment evaluates archaeological potential at the 32.3-acre Manchester VAMC campus at 718 Smyth Road in Hillsborough County to identify archaeological resources that might be present and inform future facility planning. The study incorporated background research on historic cartographic resources, historic aerial photographs, on-site file reviews at the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources, and a brief site reconnaissance in May 2015. The facility sits in an area of rolling hills east of the Merrimack River near Amoskeag Falls with potential for use during the Early Archaic through Contact periods. While six previously recorded archaeological sites exist within 1.5 miles of the VAMC property, none have been identified within the facility boundaries. Historical documentation indicates the project area remained largely undeveloped until 1888 when Governor Smyth built the Smyth Tower on the land as a private retreat; the property was subsequently donated to the City of Manchester and later to the federal government. VAMC construction began in 1948 and was completed in 1950, with extensive ground disturbance from grading, filling, and utility installation during development. Based on the assessment findings and assuming no planned impacts to the National Register-listed Smyth Tower, the report concludes that no further archaeological work is recommended at the Manchester VAMC.