______________________________________________________________________________________

Executive Summary

A Stage 1 and 2 archaeological assessment was conducted for a parcel of land (roughly 0.34 ha or 0.85 ac) located at 3496 Sandwich Street in the City of Windsor, Ontario. The subject property is located within the south part of Lot 16, Plan 40, in the Geographic Township of Sandwich, formerly Essex County, now the City of Windsor. In the winter of 2020, LandSolutions, on behalf of TELUS, contracted Timmins Martelle Heritage Consultants Inc. (TMHC) to carry out a Stage 1-2 archaeological assessment for a proposed TELUS cell tower as part of the site plan approval process conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Planning Act and Provincial Policy Statement. The work was also in keeping with the City of Windsor’s Archaeological Master Plan (CRM Group et al. 2005), a guide for assessing potential archaeological impacts in land use planning in the City of Windsor. The purpose of the Stage 1 archaeological assessment was to establish whether there was potential for archaeological resources to exist, with the purpose of the Stage 2 assessment being to determine if any were present within the property.

The Stage 1 background study included a review of current land use, historic and modern maps, past settlement history for the area and a consideration of topographic and physiographic features, soils and drainage. It also involved a review of previously registered archaeological resources within 1 km of the subject property and previous archaeological assessments within 50 m. The background study indicated that the property had potential for the recovery of archaeological resources due the proximity (i.e., within 300 m) to: 1) the former Huron Church Reserve; 2) 19th century travel routes (Bedford/Sandwich Street and South Street); and 3) areas of 19th-century settlement (Sandwich Town Plot).

The City of Windsor’s Archaeological Management Plan also identifies the subject property as having archaeological potential.

As the subject property was in proximity to several features signalling archaeological potential, a Stage 2 archaeological assessment was recommended and carried out. The subject property is currently the location of Crystal Auto Sales (2144280

Ontario Inc.) and consists of existing buildings and paved and graveled parking areas bordered by small grassed areas. As such, the non-ploughable grassed areas were recommended for assessment via a standard test pit survey at a 5 m transect interval, in keeping with provincial standards. Disturbance was encountered throughout the grassed areas, consequently the transect interval was increased to 10 m (6%). The remaining 94% of the property was previously disturbed (existing building and gravel parking lots) and was photo-documented. The test pit survey did not result in the documentation of archaeological resources. As such, the subject property should be considered free of archaeological concern and no further assessment is recommended.