T. S. Dye & Colleagues, Archaeologists, Inc.

Transcription

1 T. S. Dye & Colleagues, Archaeologists, Inc. 735 Bishop St., Suite 315, Honolulu, Hawai i Archaeological Assessment for the Proposed Nextel Partners Inc. (NPI) Ewa Beach Shopping Center Cell Site (HI-192), Honouliuli, Ewa, O ahu Island TMK:(1) :011 por. Elaine H. R. Jourdane Thomas S. Dye, Ph.D. April 12, 2006 Applicant: Clayton Group Services. Applicant s Consultant: T. S. Dye & Colleagues, Archaeologists, Inc. Location: Nextel Partners Inc. (NPI) Ewa Beach Shopping Center, Fort Weaver Road, Honouliuli, Ewa, O ahu. Tax map key: (1) :011 por. Request: Proposed Nextel Partners Inc. Ewa Beach Shopping Center Cell Site No. HI 192. Direct Effect: No historic properties in Area of Potential Effect (APE) for direct effects. Visual Effect: No historic properties in Area of Potential Effect (APE) for visual effects. 1 Introduction At the request of Clayton Group Services, T. S. Dye & Colleagues, Archaeologists, Inc. conducted an archaeological assessment of a parcel within the Ewa Beach Shopping Center for the proposed Nextel Partners Inc. (NPI) cellular site. The primary focus of the project was on the discovery and appropriate treatment of historic properties within the area of potential effect. The goals of the archaeological investigation were to determine whether the installation of 60 ft. antenna pole and construction of an equipment facility within the Ewa Beach Shopping Center would have direct or visual effects on historic properties. Prepared for Clayton Group Services. 1

2 Kilometers 2 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Survey Area Nextel Partners Inc. proposes to install a 60 ft. tall monopole, equipment cabinets and a 50 kilowatt emergency generator within a chain link fence enclosure at the Ewa Beach Shopping Center. The pole will include nine panel antennas mounted to the top of the pole and have a maximum finished height of 63 ft. The roughly 544 ft. 2 site is located on a portion of the 5.98 ac. parcel owned by the Ewa Beach Center LLC and identified as TMK:(1) :011. The project site currently consists of a sidewalk and asphalt paved area at the rear of the Star Market grocery building in the SSW portion of the parcel (figs. 1 and 2). SITE Miles T.S. Dye & Colleagues, Archaeologists, Inc. March Figure 1. Nextel Partners Inc. project location at Ewa Beach Shopping Center, O ahu, USGS Pearl Harbor Quadrangle According to the FCC Nationwide Programmatic Agreement (NPA), the area of potential effect (APE) for direct effects on historic properties includes the area of potential ground disturbance during the installation of the tower, equipment shelter, and utilities. The APE for visual effects on historic properties for a tower 200 ft. or less is the area within ca. 0.5 mi. of the tower. 1.2 Background Research This archaeological assessment includes the review of historic documents, maps and archaeological reports on file at the State Historic Preservation Division library, the

3 1.2 Background Research 3 Figure 2. Proposed NPI Cellular Site location plan, courtesy of Clayton Group Services. Hawaii State Library and the State Bureau of Conveyances. No field inspection of the project site was conducted by T. S. Dye & Colleagues, Archaeologists, Inc Natural Setting The NPI project site lies at an elevation of about 10 ft., approximately 0.5 mi. from the ocean within the Ewa Beach Shopping Center. The soils within the area are classified as Fill Land, which consists mostly of areas filled with bagasse and slurry from sugar mills. Some areas are filled with materials from dredging and soil excavations. These materials were spread over marshes, low-lying areas along the coastal flats, coral sand, coral limestone, or areas shallow to bedrock [3]. The project area receives an annual rainfall of 20 in. or less [5]. The project site has been graded and developed with commercial properties. No vegetation exists on the project site.

4 4 1 INTRODUCTION Traditional and Historic Land Use ahupua a ili The physical environment, historic properties, and history of the Ewa Plain have been well documented in several studies, including those of Tuggle and Tomonari-Tuggle [17], Davis [1] and Franklin et al. [4]. The following information is a brief review that provides context for the project. The project site is located in the ahupua a of Honouliuli in the Ewa district of O ahu. Honouliuli is the westernmost ahupua a in the district and extends from the coast to the Wai anae mountains and up the Central Plateau to the border with Wahiawa. On the west, Honouliuli extends to Piliokahe Point and on the east it borders Hoaeae ahupua a, and West Loch of Pearl Harbor. The ili of Pu uloa is located at the harbor entrance. Honouliuli is translated as dark bay and perhaps gets its name from the waters of the West Loch of Pearl Harbor [16]. The NPI project site is located in the lowland area of the Ewa Plain, an elevated coralline reef that comprises most of coastal Honouliuli. The natural topography in the lowland consists of limestone covered with little or no soil [17]. Honouliuli and the Ewa Plain are well documented in several legends and traditions. Tuggle and Tomonari-Tuggle [17], in their synthesis of cultural resource studies on the Ewa Plain, discuss the themes that are presented in these legends and traditions. They note the legends portray strong ties to Kahiki, the legendary homeland of Hawaiians, and to the notable locations of Pu u Kapolei and Kualaka i on O ahu. Connections with Kahiki are found in numerous place names, traditional events, and with the beings associated with Honouliuli. For example, there are several versions of Kaha i leaving from Kalaeloa for a trip to Kahiki to bring breadfruit back to Ewa...There are several stories that associate places in the region with Kamapua a and the Hina family, as well as with Pele s sisters, all of whom have strong connections with Kahiki... [17:27] heiau māhele kuleana Pu u Kapolei is noted as the location of a heiau, as the home of Kamaunuaniho, grandmother of the demi-god Kamapua a, as a place for observing the movement of the sun, and is referred to in a description of a wind of Ewa. Kualaka i was noted for its spring, Hoakalei, which is associated with Hi iaka, the favorite sister of Pele. Honouliuli was rich in ocean resources attained from the fishponds of Pearl Harbor and from the ocean along the southern coast. Ewa was famous for its variety of kai taro which was rare and delicious [8:471]. Kamehameha I claimed the ahupua a of Honouliuli after his conquest of O ahu and gave the ahupua a to Kalanimoku who passed on the land to his sister, Wahinepi o. During the māhele the entire ahupua a, excluding kuleana awards, was awarded to Kekau onohi, daughter of Wahinepi o and granddaughter of Kamehameha. The kuleana awards at Honouliuli totaled 150 ac. and were mostly located within Honouliuli gulch or adjacent to it. In 1877, the ahupua a of Honouliuli was sold to James Campbell, who used the land for cattle grazing and agricultural production. With the drilling of artesian wells, sugar cane flourished, and by 1890 the Ewa Plantation Company was established. By the 1920s, over 12,000 ac. of land was controlled by the Ewa Plantation Company and 20,000 ac. were leased to the Honouliuli Ranch. With the expansion of the sugar industry came

5 1.2 Background Research 5 the construction of the OR&L Railway that crossed the Ewa plain. The sugar industry continued operating in Ewa through the 1970s. The project site was subdivided from a larger parcel owned by the James Campbell Trust Estate and leased to the Ewa Plantation Company in In 1959, a 7.0 ac. parcel was leased by the Leeward Shopping Center Ltd. In 1989, the parcel was reduced to its present ac. and in 2002 the Ewa Beach Center LLC acquired the property Archaeological Background There are no known archaeological surveys conducted for the Ewa Beach Shopping Center and NPI cellular site. However, several archaeological investigations have been conducted within the Ewa Plain. During his survey of O ahu in 1930, McAllister [13] recorded several sites within Honouliuli, most of which are located in the Pearl Harbor area or in the Wai anae mountains. Much of the Ewa Plain is included in his description of site 146. Ewa coral plains, throughout which are the remains of many sites. The great extent of old stone walls, particularly near the Puuloa Salt Works, belongs to the ranching period of about 75 years ago. It is probable that the holes and pits in the coral were formerly used by the Hawaiians. Frequently the soil on the floor of large pits was used for cultivation, and even today one comes upon bananas and Hawaiian sugar cane still growing in them. They afford shelter and protection, but I doubt it previous to the time of Cook there was ever a large population here. [13:109] Archaeological investigations have been conducted in several areas within Honouliuli. The archaeological surveys and data recovery conducted for Haseko Hawaii for the Ocean Pointe development were conducted on lands that had not been altered by commercial sugar cane cultivation [4]. These investigations were conducted in areas between mi west of the NPI project site. The One ula Archaeological District, site , a complex containing traditional and historic features representing temporary habitation and agricultural use, and determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, was included in the investigations. The archaeological work identified 53 sites comprising 312 surface features. The archaeological investigations have led to the preservation of several site complexes with representative features such as mounds, alignments, walls, enclosures and, platforms. The sites likely served as temporary habitation areas that were possibly related to marine exploitation. Several other investigations have been conducted in the general vicinity of the proposed project site. Investigations by Goodman et al. [7], Jayatilaka et al. [9] and Goodman [6] in parcels located mi. north of the NPI site were conducted in areas that were extensively modified by sugar cane cultivation. No historic sites were found at those locations. In 1972, McCoy [14] conducted an archaeological survey of the proposed Pu uloa Elementary School (Kaimiloa Elementary) site located ca. 0.4 mi. east of the project site. A single site complex, site , was recorded. The complex consisted of multiple segments of crudely stacked coral slab walls, mounds, and three modified

6 6 2 RESULTS depressions in the raised reef. The remains were thought to be historic in age and no additional archaeological investigation was conducted at these sites. In 1992, archaeological inventory survey and data recovery were carried out for the proposed Ewa Beach International Golf Club located ca mi. east of the proposed project site [2; 10; 11]. The survey recorded 72 sites, including pre-contact habitation sites, animal pens, and agricultural features. It was thought that the sites represented temporary habitation areas. Thirteen sites were recommended for preservation and interpretation within the golf course development. There are no historic properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places within the area of potential effect for the undertaking. 2 Results The project site consists of a concrete sidewalk and asphalt paved area adjacent to the rear of the existing Star Market Grocery in the Ewa Beach Shopping Center (fig. 3). No surface historic properties are located within the project site. Figure 3. Services. Proposed NPI Ewa Beach Shopping Center Site, courtesy of Clayton Group

7 7 3 Discussion and Conclusions A review of the archaeological literature, historic maps, and documents indicate that the area has undergone extensive modification over its long land use history. The commercial use of the project site since the 1960s as a shopping center complex has significantly altered the landscape in the vicinity of the proposed NPI cellular site. Because of the area s extensive land alteration, it is unlikely that subsurface cultural deposits would be encountered. Therefore the construction of the facility will have no direct effect on historic properties. Since there are no known historic sites within 0.5 mi. of the subject area, we also believe that the undertaking will have no visual effect on historic properties. Glossary Entries for Hawaiian words are excerpted or paraphrased, where possible, from the Hawaiian Dictionary [15], or from Lucas [12]. ili A land section, next in importance to ahupua a and usually a subdivision of an ahupua a. ahupua a Traditional Hawaiian land division usually extending from the uplands to the sea. heiau Traditional Hawaiian place of worship. kuleana Right, title, property, portion, responsibility, jurisdiction, authority, interest, claim, ownership. māhele Land division of Bibliography [1] Davis, B. D. (1995, September). Archaeological and Paleontological Investigations at the Barber s Point Deep Draft Harbor, Ewa District, Honouliuli Ahupua a, O ahu Island, Hawai i. Volume 1: Archaeology and Paleoecology at Barber s Point. Prepared for Department of the Army, Pacific Ocean Division, Corps of Engineers. Honolulu: Anthropology Department, B. P. Bishop Museum. [2] Denham, T. and J. Kennedy (1992, October). Archaeological Preservation Plan for the Ewa Beach International Golf Club Located at TMK:9 1 01:26 & 6, Honouliuli Ahupua a, Ewa District, on the Island of Oahu. Prepared for Mr. Mutsuo Kemanai, Sog Hawaii Inc. Haleiwa, Hawaii: Archaeological Consultants of Hawaii, Inc. [3] Foote, D. E., E. L. Hill, S. Nakamura, and F. Stephens (1972). Soil Survey of the Islands of Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, and Lanai, State of Hawaii. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. Published in cooperation with the University of Hawaii Agricultural Experiment Station.

8 8 BIBLIOGRAPHY [4] Franklin, L. J., S. T. Goodfellow, and W. Wulzen (1995). Final Report, Phase II Data Recovery Archaeological Mitigation Program, Ewa Marina Community Project. Prepared for Haseko (Ewa), Inc., c/o Belt Collins Hawaii. Hilo, Hawaii: Paul H. Rosendahl, Ph.D., Inc. [5] Giambelluca, T. W. and T. A. Schroeder (1998). Climate. In S. P. Juvik and J. O. Juvik (Eds.), Atlas of Hawai i (Third ed.)., pp Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. [6] Goodman, W. L. (1991, June). Historical Documents and Literature Search, and Archaeological Surface Survey ofthe Proposed Laulani City Housing Project at Pu uloa, Ewa, O ahu (TMK : por. 7 and :por. 5). Prepared for William E. Wanket. Honolulu: Anthropology Department, B. P. Bishop Museum. [7] Goodman, W. L., H. Jayatilaka, T. Patolo, B. Nakamura, R. Nees, and B. Dixon (1993, December). An Archaeological Reconnaissance of a Proposed 20 ac. Commercial Project, Honouliuli, Ewa, O ahu Island (TMK: :por. 5). Prepared for William E.Wanket. Honolulu: Anthropology Department, B. P. Bishop Museum. [8] Handy, E. S. C. and E. G. Handy (1972). Native Planters in Old Hawaii: Their Life, Lore, and Environment. Number 233 in Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press. With the collaboration of Mary Kawena Pukui. [9] Jayatilaka, H., T. Patolo, B. Nakamura, and R. C. Nees (1992, April). Archaeological Survey and Subsurface Testing of the Proposed Hawaii Prince Golf Course, Ahupua a of Honouliuli, Ewa District, Island of O ahu. Prepared for The Meyers Corporation. Honolulu: Anthropology Department, B. P. Bishop Museum. [10] Kennedy, J., J. Berlin, and T. Denham (1992, February). Archaeological Inventory Survey Report for the Puuloa Golf Course Site, TMK:9 1 01:27 & 6, Located at Ewa, Island of Oahu. Prepared for Puuloa Homes. Hale iwa, Hawaii: Archaeological Consultants of Hawaii, Inc. [11] Kennedy, J. and T. Denham (1992). Archaeological Data Recovery Report for the Puuloa Golf Course. Prepared for William Dornbush, Puuloa Homes. Haleiwa, Hawaii: Archaeological Consultants of Hawaii. [12] Lucas, P. F. N. (1995). A Dictionary of Hawaiian Legal Land-Terms. Honolulu: Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation and University of Hawai i Committeee for the Preservation and Study of Hawaiian Language, Art and Culture. [13] McAllister, J. G. (1933). Archaeology of Oahu. Number 104 in Bulletin of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press. [14] McCoy, P. C. (1972, May). Archaeological Survey of the Proposed Puuloa Elementary School Site, Ewa Beach, Oahu. Prepared for Department of Accounting and General Services. Honolulu: Anthropology Department, B. P. Bishop Museum. [15] Pukui, M. K. and S. H. Elbert (1971). Hawaiian Dictionary (Third ed.). Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

9 BIBLIOGRAPHY 9 [16] Pukui, M. K., S. H. Elbert, and E. T. Mookini (1974). Place Names of Hawaii. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. [17] Tuggle, H. D. and M. Tomonari-Tuggle (1997, December). Synthesis of Cultural Resource Studies of the Ewa Plain, Task 1a: Archaeological Research Services for the Proposed Cleanup, Disposal and Reuse of Naval Air Station Barbers Point, O ahu, Hawai i. Prepared for Belt Collins Hawaii. Honolulu: International Archaeological Research Institute, Inc.