Archaeological Assessment for the Proposed Verizon H13 Volcano Winery Cell Site, Volcano, Hawaii Island TMK:(3) :035

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1 T. S. Dye & Colleagues, Archaeologists, Inc. 735 Bishop St., Suite 315, Honolulu, Hawai i Archaeological Assessment for the Proposed Verizon H13 Volcano Winery Cell Site, Volcano, Hawaii Island TMK:(3) :035 Elaine H. R. Jourdane Thomas S. Dye, Ph.D. August 8, 2005 Applicant: Clayton Group Services Applicant s Consultant: T. S. Dye & Colleagues, Archaeologists, Inc. Location: 35 Pii Mauna Drive, Volcano, Hawaii. Tax map key: (3) :035. Request: Proposed Verizon H13 Volcano Winery Cell Site 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 investigation of a parcel at the Volcano Winery for the proposed Verizon H13 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 construction of a 150 ft. tower and equipment facility will have direct or visual effects on historic properties. Prepared for Clayton Group Services 1

2 2 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Survey Area Verizon proposes to install a 150 ft. tall monopole with up to twelve 8 ft. panel antennas and a 12 ft. wide by 26 ft. long equipment shelter within a chain link fence enclosure at the Volcano Winery. The 1000 ft. 2 site is located in the southeastern portion of a ac. parcel owned by the Kamehameha Schools and identified as TMK:(3) :035. The proposed site is located to the rear of the Volcano Winery gift shop and tasting room (fig. 1). Figure 1. Project location at Volcano Winery, Volcano, Hawaii Island. 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 c. 0.5 mi. of the tower.

3 1.2 Background Research 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 Hawaii State Archives and the State Bureau of Conveyances. A field inspection was also conducted of the area. The project area is located at an elevation of about 4020 ft. on the eastern slopes of Mauna Loa. The soils underlying the area are classified as Heake extremely rocky sandy loam, 0 to 10 percent slopes (Foote et al. 1972). Kīlauea Crater within the Hawai i Volcanoes National Park, lies approximately 1.28 mi. to the south. Annual rainfall in the project area is in. (Giambelluca and Schroeder 1998). The project is located within Keauhou ahupua a, a traditional land area of the district of Ka ū. Handy and Handy (1972) recorded a coastal settlement at Keauhou and a trail that extended upland to Kīlauea crater and crossed the ahupua a connecting Puna and Ka ū. However they also describe Keauhou as the most isolated community in Ka ū with no coastal settlements between it and Punalu u to the south. They comment on the upland regions in this general area saying that [b]etween the northeasterly ahupua a of Kapapala and Kilauea, the upland area of active volcanic craters, there was never any cultivation, so far as we could learn. Traditionally the areas in and around Kīlauea crater were considered as wahi pana, sacred places. Stokes (1991) describes two heiau within Keauhou although he was not able to locate them during his survey of the island in An unnamed heiau was said to be in Shipman pasture lands north of Kīlauea Crater and was reportedly constructed of earth. William T Brigham who added his own comments to Stokes report believed that the frequent earthquakes, the trampling of many cattle, to say nothing of the torrential rains...would perhaps account for the disappearance of this reputed heiau. The second heiau, Oalalauo, was described by Reverend William Ellis as overlooking Kīlauea crater. Attempts by Stokes in 1906 and 1919 and others since then have failed to locate this heiau. The Verizon project site is a portion of Land Commission Award 7713 granted to Kamāmalu in 1848 and included nearly 27,000 ac. Keauhou Ranch (owned by Bishop Estate) had use of the area from the early 1900s. By the late 1930s, the 27,000 ac. parcel was leased to W. H. Shipman who subleased it to J. J. Nobriga and his wife, Maria. By the early 1960s, the parcel was leased by the Hawaiian Ranch Company, which formed as a result of the merger of Kapapala Ranch and Keauhou Ranch and by 1965 was leased to C. Brewer & Company when they merged with the Hawaiian Ranch Company. In 1989 the 27,000 ac. parcel was subdivided and the ac. parcel was formed and leased to Mauna Loa Grapes. Volcano Vineyards, LLC acquired the lease in 1999 and is the current lesee (figs. 2 and 3). There are no known archaeological surveys conducted for this parcel. Barrera (1995) conducted an archaeological reconnaissance survey of a 200 ac. parcel, mi. northeast of the current project site for a bird propagation facility. A rain shed structure, used by the Kīlauea Military Camp prior to WWII, was the only historic property recorded. Other archaeological investigations have been conducted within the Hawai i Volcanoes National Park lands. Ford (1989) describes this area as pasture lands that had been logged and grazed for more than 50 years.

4 4 2 SURVEY RESULTS Figure 2. Aerial photo showing project location in Three historic properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Kīlauea Crater (State Site ), Whitney Seismograph Vault No. 29 (State Site ), and the Old Volcano House No. 42 (State Site ) are located more than 1.0 mi. south of the project site. 2 Survey Results On July 14, 2005 Elaine Jourdane conducted a field investigation of the project area. The limits of the area were clearly defined within the vineyards to the rear of the Volcano Winery and Gift Shop. Ground visibility was excellent. The project area consists of a vegetated pahoehoe rise located between two active vineyards. The area is vegetated with a small stand of ohia, wild orchids and pūkiawe.

5 5 Figure 3. Aerial photo showing project location in Small fissures in the pahoehoe are evident in the project area and in the cultivated vineyards. A thin layer of soil covers some of the pahoehoe which is otherwise exposed on the surface (fig. 4). Approximately 60 ft. south of the project area is a small collapsed lava tube which has been used as a trash dump site. No historic properties were observed within the project area. 3 Discussion and Conclusions A review of the archaeological literature, historic maps and documents indicated that years of ranching and pasturing activities as well as the recent use of the area as a winery and vineyard have significantly altered the landscape. A field inspection determined that no historic properties exist within the area of potential effect for the proposed Ver-

6 6 BIBLIOGRAPHY proposed site area lava tube dump Figure 4. Proposed site location at Volcano, Hawaii. izon cellular site. 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. Bibliography Barrera, W. J. (1995, January). Archaeological Reonnaissance Proposed Hawaiian Forest Bird Propagation Facility. Comstock Cultural Resource Management Inc. 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. Ford, J. (1989). Draft Environmental Assessment Proposal to Protect Hawaiin Forest Bird Habitat of the Keauhou/Kilauea Forest Area on the Island of Hawaii. U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 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. 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.

7 BIBLIOGRAPHY 7 Stokes, J. F. G. (1991). Heiau of the Island of Hawai i: A Historic Survey of Native Hawaiian Temple Sites. Number 2 in Bishop Museum Bulletin in Anthropology. Honolulu: Bishop Museum. Edited and introduced by Tom Dye.