National Register of Historic Places Eligibility Testing of Sites 41LT172 and 41LT354 in Luminant's Kosse Mine, Limestone, Texas Page: 29
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5. Site 41LT172
material for sawing. The unifacially modified flake and three of the chert debitage pieces appear to
have been thermally altered. The prehistoric component at site 41LT172 appeared to represent the
remains of a short-duration, possibly single-event, occupation.
PREVIOUS ARCHIVAL RESEARCH
Limited archival research conducted as part of previous investigations (Dixon and Sherman 2010;
Glander et al. 1984) indicated a possible association of the site with early Limestone settler Joseph
Ferguson and his daughter Melissa Ferguson Donaldson Goodwin. That research indicated that
Ferguson owned the property containing the site from as early as 1850 through 1876, when he
deeded it to his daughter Melissa.
NRHP TESTING, ARCHIVAL RESEARCH
As part of the NRHP testing effort, historians sought to determine whether 41LT172 was associated
with the Ferguson or Goodwin family's occupation of the property in the late nineteenth century
and whether the site may be eligible for inclusion in the NRHP under Criterion A or B. Project
historians conducted additional deed, probate, census, and vital records (birth, death, marriage,
etc.) research at the Waco Genealogy Library in Waco, Texas, and the Texas State Library and
Archives Commission in Austin, Texas. This research included intensive, year-by-year ad valorem
tax research at the Waco Genealogy Library for the time periods suggested by the deed and
archeological record, and supplemented the previous census research as needed. Historians also
examined the nonpopulation census rolls for Limestone County at the Texas State Library and
Archives Commission in Austin. Historians used this research to determine whether Joseph
Ferguson or his daughter Melissa Ferguson Donaldson Goodwin and her family ever occupied the
subject tract.
The archival research provided evidence that the parcel containing site 41LT172 was not
associated with the homestead of Joseph Ferguson or Melissa Ferguson Donaldson Goodwin but
may have been associated with tenant farmers.
Site 41LT172 is located southwest of the small farming community of Oletha in Limestone County,
Texas, near its border with Robertson County. Archeological evidence suggests that this represents
a domestic occupation dating to circa 1880-1920. Early settler Joseph Ferguson owned the land
containing the site from as early as 1850 through 1876, when he deeded it to his daughter Melissa.
However, archival research suggests that the archeological deposits were not likely associated with
early settler Joseph Ferguson or his daughter Melissa Ferguson Donaldson Goodwin, who owned
the property during the period of occupation. Thus, it was most likely associated with resident
tenant farmers.
Following the turn of the twentieth century, the property was owned by area businessman andstock raiser W.W. Barnett. However, the parcel does not appear to have constituted his homestead.
Private and Confidential
Atkins 100021558/110187 29
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Atkins North America, Inc. National Register of Historic Places Eligibility Testing of Sites 41LT172 and 41LT354 in Luminant's Kosse Mine, Limestone, Texas, report, February 2012; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth839205/m1/38/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.