Phase I Historic Resources Survey Lowndes Wildlife Management Area Lowndes County, Alabama.

The development of the Lowndes Wildlife Management Area LWMA was undertaken to mitigate loss of wildlife habitat associated with the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. The LWMA has undergone a transition from a pristine natural landscape, to a natural landscape with limited cultural modifications, to an agricultural landscape with limited natural environments, and finally is in transition to a woodland and wildlife management area, as proposed by the USACE. The Phase I survey focused on four areas of inquiry background research, archaeological survey, architectural survey, and cemetery inventory. The focus of Phase I survey was to locate architectural properties, archaeological sites, and cemeteries, and to determine if any were significant based on criteria used to determine their National Register of Historic Places NRHP eligibility. The background research identified broad trends in the prehistoric and historic settlement of the region, thereby providing a context for our field investigations and property evaluations. The archaeological survey identified 65 sites. Three sites are recommended to be potentially eligible for the NRHP. If land disturbing activities are planned in these locations, Phase II investigations are recommended to provide a definitive assessment of their NRHP potential. A total of 31 standing buildings and structures were present within the project area during our field investigations in February 1998. Of these, only six were of sufficient age to be considered for NRHP evaluation. These consist of three tenant houses and three barns. Because of structural deterioration, these structures lacked integrity and were recommended ineligible for the NRHP. The cemetery inventory focused on mapping and documenting five cemeteries located on or surrounded by the LWMA. Burials date from the early nineteenth through late twentieth centuries, and include some of the early property owners and their families.