New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation and Beardsley Design Associates
Cumberland Bay State Park, Clinton County, New York
Ongoing improvements at Cumberland Bay State Park, located on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain north of Plattsburgh, NY, include the demolition and replacement of three outdated comfort stations. EDR conducted a Phase 1 cultural resources survey for the proposed project in 2015 to satisfy the requirements of Section 14.09 of the New York State Historic Preservation Act, which was triggered by the project’s location within a state park and the use of state funds.
EDR personnel conducted an in-depth historic map review and archaeological field investigation for the project. The historic map review demonstrated that the project area was lakeshore wetland and sand dunes prior to the 20th century. The archaeological fieldwork consisted of the excavation of 20 shovel tests throughout the areas of proposed disturbance. No archaeological material was recovered and the soil stratigraphy indicated modern deposition of the near-surface sediment. Such deposition would have occurred during recent high-stands of Lake Champlain, when fine-grained sediment was deposited across the beach, and/or through stabilizing the shoreline and beach area with imported sand and sod. Overall, the historic research and archaeological survey suggested a high level of modern and historic deposition and disturbance within the project area, neither of which is conducive to the preservation of intact archaeological materials.