In 1986 and 1987, John Milner Associates, Inc. (JMA) conducted data recovery investigations along sections of the Mid-County Expressway for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration. The Mid-County Expressway (I-476), now popularly known as the “Blue Route,” was completed and opened to traffic in 1992. However, the artifact collection and archaeological reports went uncompleted. 

In 2017, the West Chester office of Commonwealth Heritage Group, Inc., the successor firm of JMA, undertook the completion of the draft Blue Route reports and updating of the artifact catalogs and collections to current Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) curation standards.

This report presents the purpose, background, methods, and results of the archaeological investigations at the Lewis Paper Mill Site, located in Nether Providence Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.