Archaeological Testing at AZ:U:9:111(ASM), A Yaqui Laborers' Camp at the Southside Water Service Center, Mesa, Arizona

Summary

From May 4 through 8, 1992, SWCA tested site AZ U:9:111(ASM), a Yaqui laborers’ camp that had been located at the Southside Water Service Center, a Salt River Project (SRP). facility in Mesa, Arizona. SRP proposed to construct a utility building on part of the camp. The purpose of the testing was to assess the eligibility of the camp for the National Register of Historic Places and to develop a plan for mitigating the adverse effects of construction on significant remains that might be present within the building’s footprint. The surface of the site had been severely altered by industrial activity; because of such alteration, the property lacked integrity under criteria "a", "b", and "c" of the National Register. Archaeological investigations revealed the presence of 20 features. Relatively few artifacts were recovered within or outside these features. With one exception, dateable features were associated with the 1943 to 1956 component of the Yaqui camp and therefore were not old enough to be eligible for the National Register. Furthermore, they lacked "exceptional significance" that would make them eligible for the Register under Criteria Consideration G, a criterion used to evaluate properties less than fifty years old. One feature was a trash pit that was associated with the pre- 1943 component of the Yaqui camp; although greater than fifty years old, the feature (which was not within the building’s footprint) was almost completely destroyed by backhoe testing, and therefore lacked the integrity necessary to be considered eligible for the Register under criterion "d". The proposed construction was found to have no effect on cultural resources listed on or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Salt River Project Digital Library

Keywords

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 1943 to 1956 (Dating of concrete block homes)

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Salt River Project Cultural Resource Manager

Principal Investigator(s): Pat Stein

Repository(s): Salt River Project, Tempe, AZ

Prepared By(s): SWCA Environmental Consultants

Submitted To(s): Salt River Project

Record Identifiers

SRP Barcode No.(s): 00090878

SWCA Archaeological Report No.(s): 92-18

SRP Call No.(s): E78.Y36S73 1992

File Information