Four Corner - Texas Water Development Board

2.3.2. METHODOLOGY
BCAD conducted archival research on the project areas prior to field surveys at
the Texas Archaeological Research Laboratory (TARL) and the General Land
Office in Austin, Texas; at the Fort Bend County Museum; and it the Texas Room
of the Houston Public Library. The files of National Register of Historic Places,
National Register of Eligible Sites and the Texas State Archaeological Sites were
reviewed. The General Land Office provided information on the original Spanish
land grants and owners of the project areas. Early Texas history was reviewed as
well as the biographies of the original owners of the land tracts. Aerial
photographs were studied to determine more recent land use.
BCAD conducted reconnaissance surveys of the project areas on September 22,
1998 to the extent or ready accessibility to the areas. Natural drainage channels
were located because the banks of waterways were frequently preferred for
campsites by prehistoric peoples.
The architecture of those existing buildings that could meet the requirements for
inclusion in the National Register or Historic Places was examined. The structure
must be fifty years old and meet one or more of the following requirements:
1. The structure is associated with events that have made a significant
contribution to the broad patterns of history.
2. The structure is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past.
3. The structure is important to a particular cultural or ethnic group.
4. The structure is the work of a significant architect, master builder, or
craftsman.
5. The structure embodies the distinctive characteristic of a type, period, or
method of construction, possesses high aesthetic value, or represents a
significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual
distinctions.
6. The structure has yielded or may be likely to yield information important to
the understanding of Texas culture or history.
Four Comers Area Water and Wastewater Facilities Planning Study
Page 2-8
FINAL REPORT