Author: S. Christopher Caran

Publisher:

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 156

ISBN-13:

In March 1996, a pedestrian survey of 350 acres in Fort Richardson State Park (FRSP), Jack County, north central Texas was conducted by staff members of Borderlands Archeological Research Laboratory (BARU), The University of Texas at Austin with the assistance of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Regional Resource Managers Ron Ralph and Art Black. The project was carried out under the authority of Texas Antiquities Permit 1629 with Dr. Cynthia Brandimarte as Principal Investigator. A corollary geomorphological study identified a number of ecologically sensitive sinkholes, some that had been used as historic trash dumps. These previously unrecognized karst features provide a direct link to ground water recharge and recommendations for cleaning and avoidance were offered. The survey focused on portions of the park outside of the historic fort, 41JA2. Four sites - 41JA7, 41JA8, 41JA9, and 41JA10 - were recorded bringing the park inventory to six, including two prehistoric, each with a minor historic component, and 4 historic sites. Prehistoric sites 41 JA7 and 41 JA8 are sparse lithic scatters located on upland shoulder slopes; no temporally or culturally diagnostic artifacts were recovered. Historic site, 41 JA9, is a modern trash dump dating to between 1920 and 1950. 41JA10, an historic house which is currently serving as the park superintendent's residence, was constructed in the 1850s and may be the oldest occupied domicile on TPWD lands. In addition to the survey, two specific management issues were addressed. Backhoe trenching of a turn-of-the-century railroad berm confirmed that fill from the fort grounds was used in construction. Secondly, an attempt to relocate foundations of fort stables through surface reconnaisance and measurements taken from historic documents indicates that the remnants were destroyed by construction of the railroad berm. Recommendations for further work are: removal of trash from sinkholes with care given to preserving historically important artifacts; an architectural assessment of 41JA10, the superintendent's home, to determine its significance by National Register of Historic Places criteria; and, if warranted by future development, removal of the railroad berm to enable reconstruction of the Fort stables in their original location. Neither of the prehistoric components recorded during this survey merit special designation as State Archeological Landmarks and the historic house site, 41 JA6, is not considered to hold potential for the NRHP or SAL. However, clearing of the sinkholes may expose subsurface deposits that warrant reassessment of their SAL status.