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Historic Structure Report: Forks of the Road Bridge, Natchez National

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Historic Structure Report: Forks of the Road Bridge, Natchez National National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natchez National Historical Park Natchez, Mississippi Forks of the Road Bridge Historic Structure Report Cultural Resources, Partnerships and Science Division Southeast Region Forks of the Road Bridge Natchez National Historical Park Natchez, Mississippi Historic Structure Report Prepared by: Panamerican Consultants, Inc. 2390 Clinton Street Buffalo, New York 14227-1735 Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. 330 Pfingsten Road Northbrook, Illinois 60062 WFT Architects, PA 770 North State Street Jackson, Mississippi 39202 Prepared for: National Park Service Southeast Regional Office 100 Alabama Street SW Atlanta, Georgia 30303 Cultural Resources, Partnerships and Science Division Southeast Region National Park Service 100 Alabama Street, SW Atlanta, Georgia 30303 (404) 507-5787 About the front cover: View of the Forks of the Road Bridge looking southwest, March 2018. Source: Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. This manuscript has been authored by Panamerican Consultants, Inc., with consultants Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., and WFT Architects, P.A., under Contract Number P16PC00097 with the National Park Service. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. Forks of the Road Bridge Natchez National Historical Park Natchez, Mississippi Historic Structure Report Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................................................................... vii Project Team ..................................................................................................................................................................... ix Foreword ........................................................................................................................................................................... xi Management Summary Historical Data ............................................................................................................................................................ 1 Treatment and Use ..................................................................................................................................................... 4 Administrative Data ................................................................................................................................................... 4 Project Scope and Methodology ................................................................................................................................ 5 Developmental History Historical Background and Context ........................................................................................................................... 9 Brief History of Natchez Trace and the Forks of the Road Slave Market .............................................................. 10 The Forks of the Road Slave Market ................................................................................................................. 11 The Evolving Forks of the Road Area ............................................................................................................... 14 Natchez National Historical Park ...................................................................................................................... 19 Bridges in Mississippi ......................................................................................................................................... 19 History of the Bridges over the Spanish Bayou, Natchez, Mississippi ............................................................. 20 Spanish Bayou Bridge at Washington Road Timeline ............................................................................................ 24 Physical Description and Condition Assessment Site ............................................................................................................................................................................. 27 Forks of the Road Bridge .......................................................................................................................................... 28 Condition Assessment .............................................................................................................................................. 35 Materials Studies ...................................................................................................................................................... 38 Significance and Integrity National Register of Historic Places ......................................................................................................................... 41 Significance Criteria ........................................................................................................................................... 41 National Register Status of the Forks of the Road Bridge ...................................................................................... 42 Period of Significance ........................................................................................................................................ 45 Character-Defining Features .................................................................................................................................... 45 Assessment of Integrity ............................................................................................................................................ 46 Treatment and Use Requirements for Treatment and Use ..................................................................................................................... 49 Laws, Regulations, and Functional Requirements ........................................................................................... 49 Alternates for Treatment and Use ........................................................................................................................... 51 Ultimate Treatment and Use .................................................................................................................................... 52 Guidelines for Treatment .................................................................................................................................. 52 Recommendations ............................................................................................................................................. 53 Recommendations for Further Research .......................................................................................................... 55 Resilience to Natural Hazards .................................................................................................................................. 56 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................................. 59 Appendix A: Drawings National Park Service v vi Historic Structure Report: Forks of the Road Bridge List of Figures Management Summary 1 A map of Mississippi showing the location of Natchez and Natchez National Historical Park. .......................... 6 2 A map of Natchez, showing the location of the Forks of the Road Bridge and Natchez National Historical Park properties. ........................................................................................................................................................ 7 3 An aerial view of the Forks of the Road Bridge and environs. .............................................................................. 7 Developmental History 4 Brick arch bridge over Spanish Bayou at Washington Road ................................................................................. 9 5 View of the bridge from Forks of the Road, looking northeast ......................................................................... 10 6 Survey and plan of St. Catherine Street showing Forks of the Road slave marts .............................................. 13 7 Forks of the Road, 1856, Thomas Kenney, Surveyor, City of Natchez, Mississippi, showed the slave market buildings of Elam and James and the extension of Washington Road across Spanish Bayou with a “Bridge” at the location of the current bridge ................................................................................................... 13 8 1890 suburbs of Natchez showing the Forks of the Road Bridge area .............................................................. 14 9 Affordable housing lines the west ridge above the Spanish Bayou and the bridge ......................................... 17 10 Land clearing at affordable housing site ............................................................................................................. 18 11 The bridge area showing Old Washington Road ................................................................................................ 23 12 Large concrete box culvert on west bound US 61/D’Evereux Road at Spanish Bayou ...................................... 23 Physical Description and Condition Assessment 13 The small creek that passes under the bridge ....................................................................................................
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