Cultural Resources Survey of Fairfield Lake State Park, Freestone County, Texas

Abstract

Fairfield Lake State Park occupies 1,460 acres in Freestone County, approximately five miles northeast of Fairfield, Texas. The land was acquired for lease by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) from Texas Utilities in the 1970s. Under provisions of the Texas Antiquities Code, TPWD is responsible for managing any possible cultural resources on park land. In an effort to begin building an inventory of sites, a cultural resource survey of the park was conducted by Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) in 1996 under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 1698, granted to Dr. James E. Corbin. The SFA crew that performed the 1996 fieldwork recorded or revisited a total of 34 sites in the park’s 1,460 acres. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, this initial assessment was never completed; all of the fieldwork was performed, but analysis, curation, and the completion of the report went unfinished. In 2008, TPWD contracted the Center for Archaeological Studies at Texas State University-San Marcos (CAS) to complete the project. Working under contract with TPWD and the reactivated Permit No. 1698, CAS revisited and reassessed each of the 34 sites, recorded an additional site, completed the report, and finalized the analysis and curation of all documents and artifacts recovered in 1996 and 2008. Fieldwork was performed in June of 2008 by Gregory J. LaBudde, Project Archaeologist, David M. Yelacic, CAS Archaeologist, and Jon C. Lohse, who served as the Principal Investigator for the CAS work.