Archaeological Investigation of the San Antonio River Authority San Pedro Creek Operational Facilities, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

Abstract

In March of 2019, the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) excavated three exploratory backhoe trenches for the San Pedro Creek Operational Facilities Project in downtown San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. The CAR was contracted by the San Antonio River Authority (SARA) to conduct an archaeological investigation of a potential historic site, identified by Matthew Elverson of the City of San Antonio (COSA) Office of Historic Preservation (OHP), located on SARA property on the site of the San Pedro Creek Operational Facility. At the municipal level, the project falls under COSA’s Unified Development Code (Article 6 35-630 to 35-634). The project requires review by the Texas Historical Commission (THC) under the Antiquities Code of Texas, and CAR was issued Texas Antiquities Permit No. 8848 prior to commencement of archaeological investigations. Dr. Paul Shawn Marceaux, CAR Director, served as the Principal Investigator, and Sarah Wigley of the CAR served as the Project Archaeologist. All artifacts collected and all records generated during the course of this project are permanently curated at the CAR. Three backhoe trenches were excavated within the 1.4-acre project area. Two of these were terminated early due to obstructions. In the third trench, a small amount of historic cultural material, including ceramics, glass, metal and shell, was encountered. Excavation of this trench resulted in the documentation of a previously unrecorded historic site, 41BX2285. Site 41BX2285 has limited research potential due to the limited quantity of diagnostic artifacts, lack of architectural features associated with the site, and the abundance of data recovered from the late nineteenth-early twentieth century in Texas (THC 2019a). The CAR recommends site 41BX2285 is ineligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places or for designation as a State Antiquities Landmark.