A cultural resources survey and historical documentary was undertaken at Grafton, North Dakota, to assist in planning for proposed flood control measures. During a spring 1982 revisit to the area, one Burlington Northern Railroad bridge was recoded as an architectural/historic cultural resource site. The documentary research conducted for, and the subsurface tests conducted at, the Plant View Homestead site are sufficient to determine that this site is not significant, nor is it eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places; the State Historic Preservation Office has concurred with this determination and no further work is recommended for this site. The Railroad Bridge site is considered to have the potential for significance, since it represents what may be the only remaining structures of its kind in the Red River Valley. Recommendations concerning the Railroad Bridge site include implementation of flood control measures in order to avoid the site completely.

The St. Paul District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has proposed a flood control project at West Fargo Cass County, North Dakota. The project will permit flood waters to be diverted through a separate channel at times of high flow of the Sheyenne River. A phase one cultural resources inventory was conducted along the Sheyenne River near the city of West Fargo. All historic and archaeological sites within the area were recorded and the general nature of those resources were assessed. The Phase I survey resulted in the location of three prehistoric sites, one historic site, one prehistoric isolated find and one historic isolated find. Neither of the isolated finds are considered significant, an no further work is recommended at these locations. The historic site, the Lund Farmstead, is not eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. Three prehistoric sites are of undetermined NRHP eligibility. Their significance can not be determined without subsurface testing. One landowners refused permission to survey on this property. It is recommended that the Corps of Engineers obtain landowner permission and inventory these additional 18 acres.

One historic cultural resource site was located and recorded during field reconnaissance in the study area. This site, 32RY9, is comprised of the remnants of an abandoned railbed, which once was used by the Devils Lake and Chautaugua Railroad to transport patrons of the North Dakota Chautaugua to the Chautauga grounds on Creel Bay. A portion of the railbed is situated in Section 4, and it will be inundated if the proposed south holding pond is constructed. The tracks and ties used to construct the Devils Lake and Chautaugua Railroad were removed in 1917; therefore, the original railroad feature has been altered. Since no structural evidence of the Devils Lake and Chautaugua Railroad exists at the site, it was determined that site no longer retains integrity and it was determined that this site does not retain architectural significance. The site does have historically significant associations, in that it is related to the North Dakota Chautaugua (located on Creel Bay), but these associations are not such that the site would be likely to yield historically important information. It is recommended that no further cultural resource work need be conducted prior to implementation of proposed flood control measures at Devils Lake.

The literature search and records review identified no previous archaeological investigations and no known archaeological sites in the Grafton area. It identified nine historic sites, only one of which has been field checked by a cultural resource professional. This site-Williamson House in the city of Grafton--has been declared eligible for the National Register by the North Dakota State Historic Preservation Office. None of the other sites has been subject to a National Register Survey. Of the sites identified in this study, only the rural school in Section 11, T157N R53W seems likely to be impacted by the flood control alternatives under consideration by the Corps of Engineers. The study concludes that the cultural resources of the Grafton area are largely unknown, and recommends that the ground to be disturbed by flood control construction be field surveyed to determine whether prehistoric or historic cultural resources which require protection may exist there.

Forty-eight archaeological sites were identified during a 1977 survey of the proposed Burlington Dam Flood Control Project site. Priority areas surveyed were the Lake Darling area, acreage downstream of Lake Darling dam to the proposed Burlington Dam site and from the head of Lake Darling to the Canadian border. These areas maintain five general eco-zones. Prehistoric human adaptations favored the Northern forest, Terrace Grasslands, and Upland Prairie eco-zones. Plains Village manifestations from the Woodland time period are located predominately in the Northern Floodplain Forest. Plains Nomadic occupants probably used both the Floodplain Forest and Terrace Grasslands. Cultural material analyses suggest tht ceramic components with a preponderance of Swan River chert lithic debitage area Plains Village manifestations. Non-ceramic manifestations with an abundance of Knife River flint debitage appear to represent Plains Nomadic cultural types. Both cultural components co-existed in the Upper Souris Valley throughout Woodland times. The 1977 survey points out two facts. First, much of the archaeological resources were irretrievably lost after the construction of Lake Darling in the 1930's. Secondly, a significant body of a data remains which must be investigated thoroughly and be mitigated on a basis equal with other project considerations. Most individual site recommendations are based on the assumption that the proposed Burlington Dam will adversely affect the known sites.