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Historic and Cultural Resources <br />Office is needed to obtain formal determinations of eligibility for properties listed as potentially <br />eligible for the National Register. <br />Archaeological Resources <br />Both alternative sites are located within the Willamette River Valley floodplain, which is <br />characterized by layers of alluvial deposition that could deeply bury prehistoric archaeological <br />remains. Prehistoric materials recovered in the Eugene vicinity extended to over a meter below <br />the ground surface. Modern sediments in the area reflect the region's fluvial history: drainage <br />floodplain deposits consisting of silt and sand with cross-bedded gravels and cobbles. <br />Archaeologists have predicted that larger village sites could be discovered at terrace edges within <br />the Willamette River Valley, and small, seasonal resource procurement sites are more likely to <br />be found within the floodplain. The majority of archaeological sites recorded in the <br />Eugene/Springfield metropolitan area are located in modern and abandoned floodplain zones. <br />Downtown Eugene and Springfield have been continuously occupied by Euroamericans and <br />other nonnative settlers since the 1840s. Past construction activities could have buried both <br />prehistoric sites and early historical artifacts and foundation features in the downtown areas. <br />Buildings, parking lots, streets, sidewalks, and railroad tracks now cover most of the natural <br />surface sediments. <br />Research at the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office revealed one archaeological site that is <br />potentially eligible for National Register listing in the downtown Eugene area. In 1997, a <br />building foundation and privy associated with the Thomas G. Hendricks house complex, which <br />dates to the 1880s, were discovered during construction of the Charnelton parking structure. <br />Originally a residential area, the block evolved into a commercial district in the 1930s and 1940s <br />with the replacement of houses with businesses and parking lots. Based on this archaeological <br />find, .other intact archaeological features likely are present beneath the ground surface in <br />downtown Eugene and Springfield. <br />The historical Government Land Office documents, city records, and Sanborn maps were <br />reviewed for the alternative sites. The changes in historical land uses and the potential for <br />archaeological resources to exist beneath the paved or developed surfaces of the alternative sites <br />are described in Appendix A of the draft EIS. <br />The locations of Alternatives 1 and 2 in the Willamette River Valley suggest that prehistoric <br />archaeological resources could be present on these sites, although the extensive land disturbance <br />associated with the historical development of residences, businesses, and industries, including <br />the millrace in Eugene, indicates that such deposits are likely to have been disturbed. <br />Previous archaeological studies within the project area have identified archaeological sites in or <br />~, near the Eugene and Springfield alternative sites. In 1992, Infotec Research, Inc. assessed <br />cultural resources for the Oregon Department of Transportation's proposed Ferry Street bridge <br />New Federal Courthouse 69 Final EIS <br />__ <br />