Archaeological Monitoring for a Subsurface Electricity Line and Guard Rail Footings at Yuma Territorial State Historic Park

Arizona State Parks has completed archaeological monitoring for excavations associated with park improvements at Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park, Yuma, Arizona. Excavations consisted of footings for a guard rail and a trench for an electricity line. Monitoring was conducted on Wednesday and Thursday, September 16 and 17, and Tuesday, November 10, 1992, by Laurene G. Montero, Archaeologist for Arizona State Parks. This work was accomplished pursuant to ARS 41-861 through 41-864 of the State Historic Preservation Act.

Previously, the State Historic Preservation Office determined that excavation of the guard rail footings should have no effect on any historic properties that might be eligible for the National or Arizona Registers of Historic Places (letter from Robert E. Gasser to Paul Govino, ASP Development, dated March 18, 1992}. However, it was recommended by Billy Och, former Park Operations Specialist at Yuma, that archaeological monitoring be conducted as a great deal of possibly historic trash has been noted in past excavations in some of the footing locations. The location of the electricity line would avoid previously existing historic buildings, which were depicted on Sanborn Insurance maps dating to 1875, 1900 and 1911. Still, archaeological monitoring was conducted because of the possibility of finding additional intact features or diagnostic artifacts.