An Archeological Inventory and Assessment of 14 Archeological Sites in the Everett Area, Boston Township, Summit County, Ohio

Summary

This report documents the planning process for identifying and protecting archeological resources within Everett in Cuyahoga Valley National Park with regard to a proposed sewer system to be developed to serve numerous historic structures in the crossroads community. It also describes the components, content, and context of 14 archeological sites that occur on the properties to be served by the new sewer system. The sewer system would be a unified, single system connected to the City of Akron sewer system that would replace numerous leach fields, holding tanks, and associated sewer components that currently serve the structures individually, or in small groups. As a result of intensive planning efforts, and the narrow, linear character of the project, the new system has been designed to avoid any adverse impacts to the archeological sites that occur on the properties. The new system’s components, consisting primarily of main sewer lines, connectors to each property, and a few lift or pump stations, were placed within disturbed road-rights-of way, other areas grossly disturbed by various historic and modern activities, and/or in areas devoid of archeological resources. The report summarizes how the planning for site avoidance was accomplished and presents clear evidence in support of the National Park Service’s (NPS) finding of “No Adverse Effect” for the project.

Everett is a small, historic community that developed incrementally through most of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in association with three overlapping, but sequential regional transportation systems: the Ohio and Erie Canal, The Valley Rail, and a motor car road system. Everett, known during portions of the nineteenth century as Unionville, is located at the intersection of Everett and Riverview Roads in Summit County, Ohio. The entire community is within the boundaries of Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CUVA). Beginning in 1985 and continuing on a nearly annual basis from 1993 through 2008, the managers at CUVA have sponsored archeological inventory and evaluation efforts at numerous properties in Everett. This work was conducted to provide baseline data for identifying the distribution and significance of the archeological resources that occur at the properties. Although the only work specifically targeted to understanding the relationship of archeological resources and the proposed sewer system occurred in 2008, the foresight of the park in conducting the previous, more general, studies was borne out since many of those studies contributed important and extensive data for the project planning efforts. While some of the recorded archeological resources are directly associated with activities that occurred at historic structures at Everett, others are unrelated to the buildings and predate the historic community by a millennium or more. This report synthesizes the archeological findings at each of the properties to be served by the new sewer system and documents how the archeological data were used to design a system that would avoid all adverse impacts to those sites.

Although multiple potentially significant pre-contact Native American and historic Euro-American site components occur within Everett, project planners, working closely with NPS archeologists, were able to place all ground disturbing components of the project within previously grossly disturbed areas, or areas devoid of archeological resources. Accordingly, the report offers data that support the NPS’s finding of “No Adverse Effect” for the project. The report also recommends a series of measures to protect the sites adjacent to the direct impact zone from inadvertent damage during the sewer development project.

Archeological collections and associated archives for the numerous NPS-sponsored field projects and sites discussed in this report are held at the NPS’s Midwest Archeological Center (MWAC) under accessions MWAC 148, 526, 558, 565, 603, 646, 721, 751, 792, 851, 911, 945, 987, 1028, 1088, 1144, 1221, and 1237.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Midwest Archeological Center Technical Reports

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Repository(s): Midwest Archeological Center National Park Service

Record Identifiers

MWAC Accession Number(s): 646; 1088; 792; 945; 851; 603; 721; 1237; 1028; 526; 148; 911; 1144; 751; 528; 987; 565; 1221

File Information