Heritage Resources Impact Assessment (October 2002)
In October of 2002, the City of Saskatoon asked Stantec Consulting
Ltd. to conduct Heritage Resources Impact Assessment (HRIA) of the
Gathercole Property, located in the south downtown of Saskatoon
at the corner of 3rd Avenue and 19th Street. Previous studies of
the area (Amundson, Champ and Brandon 1994; EnnsKavanagh and
Friesen 2002) have documented the presence of FaNp26, the Clinkskill
House Site. This site consists of a historic house foundation belonging
to James Clinkskill, the first mayor of Saskatoon. This site was
also noted to have a sparse precontact component. The HRIA of FaNp26
on the Gathercole property was designed to do two things. First,
it was designed to assess the extent and significance of the precontact
component of the site. Second, it was designed to generate recommendations
for mitigation of both the Clinkskill House foundation and any significant
precontact remains, in the event of impact by development.
A total of 10 test excavations were dug. Based on previous studies
conducted in 1994 and 2002, a detailed understanding of the stratigraphy
of the area had already been obtained. Therefore, a skidsteer
(Bobcat) tractor with a 12” auger was used to quickly excavate
the 10 holes. All soil was screened through 4mesh. No further evidence
of the precontact component of the site was found. A small sample
of historic artifacts generally relating to the presence of the
Clinkskill House and it’s destruction in 1960 were collected
(wire drawn nails, brick andmortar fragments, ceramics andmetal).
No further features of the Clinkskill yard, beyond the house itself,
were noted.
It was concluded, first, that the precontact component of FaNp26
was not significant and did not warrant mitigationin the event of
impact. Second, it is recommended that, in the event of any ground
disturbance within a ten metre radius of the center of the Clinkskill
foundation, the site be mitigated with an asfound recording.
This would involve the exposure of as much of the foundation remains
as possible, and the creation of a detailed map of the same. It
is also recommended that, during the excavations of the Clinkskill
house, this excellent opportunity for public education about archaeology
and Saskatoon history be utilized to its full extent.
|