Archeological and geoarcheological survey of State Highway 35 between Angleton and Old Ocean, Brazoria County, Texas

During March through July 2003, The Center for Archaeological Research of The University of Texas at San Antonio conducted a cultural resources survey, including geoarcheological studies, along portions of State Highway 35 from Angleton to Old Ocean in Brazoria County, Texas. This survey was conducted under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 3091 and was performed for the Texas Department of Transportation, Environmental Affairs Division. During the early phases of the survey, a Historic Context for the project was developed by Hardy-Heck-Moore, Inc. of Austin, Texas. This Historic Context was used to guide the latter phases of the survey, and is reproduced in this document. The project area consisted of a 15-mile-long discontinuous portion of the highway, with variable widths and eight separate detention ponds, varying in area from 2–12 acres each. Nearly 600 auger borings, here substituted for shovel tests, and 176 backhoe trenches were excavated, encountering no significant cultural deposits or features. The artifacts uncovered during these investigations were of recent origin and, therefore, none were collected for analysis and curation. With the exception of testing at site 41BO184, this project completes the cultural resources inventory of the State Highway 35 corridor between Angleton and Old Ocean.