North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources State Historic Preservation Office Ramona M
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North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources State Historic Preservation Office Ramona M. Bartos, Administrator Governor Pat McCrory Office of Archives and History Secretary Susan Kluttz Deputy Secretary Kevin Cherry April 24, 2015 Gregory G. Bean [email protected] Director of Public Works US Army Installation Management Command 2175 Reilly Road, Stop A Fort Bragg, North Carolina 28310-5000 RE: Evaluation of the Little Muddy Lake Dam, Camp Mackall, Scotland County, ER 15-0864 Dear Mr. Bean: Thank you for your letter of April 7, 2015, concerning the above-referenced undertaking. We have reviewed the materials submitted and offer the following comments. We understand the spillway of the Little Muddy Lake Dam is slated for demolition due to structural problems and potential failure. Beach houses, piers and other recreational infrastructure previously surrounding the dam are gone, compromising the context of the dam, as well as, its integrity of setting. Thus, we concur the dam is not eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and we have no further comment on the proposed undertaking. The above comments are made pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation’s Regulations for Compliance with Section 106 codified at 36 CFR Part 800. Thank you for your cooperation and consideration. If you have questions concerning the above comment, contact Renee Gledhill-Earley, environmental review coordinator, at 919-807-6579 or [email protected]. In all future communication concerning this project, please cite the above referenced tracking number. Sincerely, Ramona M. Bartos cc: Charles Heath, Fort Bragg [email protected] Location: 109 East Jones Street, Raleigh NC 27601 Mailing Address: 4617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh NC 27699-4617 Telephone/Fax: (919) 807-6570/807-6599 DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY US ARMY INSTALLATION MANAGEMENT COMMAND HEADQUARTERS, UNITED STATES ARMY GARRISON, FT BRAGG 2175 REILLY ROAD, STOP A REPLYTO FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA 28310-5000 ATTENTION OF April 7, 2015 Directorate of Public Works Ms. Renee Gledhill-Earley State Historic Preservation Office Department of Cultural Resources 4617 Mail Service Center Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-4617 Dear Ms. Gledhill-Earley: In accordance with Section 106 and Section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, the Fort Bragg Cultural Resources Management Program (CRMP) staff has evaluated the Little Muddy Lake Dam, located at Camp Mackall, Scotland County, North Carolina to determine its eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The Determination of Eligibility (DOE) study was initiated because the dam's spillway structure is scheduled for demolition and replacement later in 2015. In addition, large trees groHing on the sides of the dam's earth embankment will be removed, the crest of the earthwork Hill be graded, and the flanks repaired, as well as hardened with granite rip-rap along erosion prone sections. The Hark to be executed on the dam is in response to multiple negative findings in a recent Periodic Dam Inspection Report prepared in 2012 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The USACE inspectors determined that the Little Muddy Lake Dam is in "poor condition," due to multiple structural problems, and in danger of failing; the dam is rated as a "high hazard" structure. Under cover of this letter, we are submitting the results of the CRMP staff's evaluation, a final draft of the DOE report, for your review and comment as per 36 CFR 800. In summary, the Little Muddy Lake Dam, which impounds a segment of Big Muddy Creek near the current eastern boundary of Camp Mackall, Has built ca. 1943 to create Little Muddy Lake. This dam, the second built by the U.S. Army along Big Muddy Creek in the early 1940s, provided an additional impoundment for military training and recreational swimming for Army personnel stationed at Camp Mackall during World War II. Based on the evaluation findings detailed in the enclosed report, the CRMP staff recommends the structure as not eligible for inclusion on the NRHP. While the dam has been minimally modified since the 1940s, Little Muddy Lake nm1 shows no signs of its originally intended use as a swimming area. Because the dam and its surroundings lack the integrity to convey its significance as a WWII era military recreational area, the dam is recommended as not eligible 2 for listing on the NRHP under Criterion A for significance to a broad pattern of history or historical events. Additionally, "the dam is a standard earth embankment type with a reinforced concrete spilh1ay structure typical for the period of construction, and is not eligible under Criterion C for engineering design/construction. By way of this letter, we also note that in the coming months, the CRMP staff 1·1ill be executing a related, in-house study to determine the respective National Register eligibility statuses for the remaining lake dams on the installation that are more than 50 years old. This subsequent study will include DOE evaluations on the McKiethan Porid, Matt Lake, and Mossgiel Lake dams, as well as the partial remains of tl-10, pre-1918 hydroelectric dams at Fort Bragg. The latter t1-10 structures are the Lakeview ·Light & Pov~er Company Plant No. 1 (31HK544). and LakevieH Light & PoHer Company Plant No. 2 (31HK1253) dams. We look forward to your comments regarding the enclosed document. Should you have any questions, please contact Mr. Charles Heath, Interim Architectural Historian and Staff Archaeologist, at (910) 908- 4284, email [email protected], or Mr. Paul G. Humphrey, Chief, Environmental Management Branch, at (910) 396-6518 or [email protected]. Sincerely, l Gr~~ ~-~:-- ~ Director of Public Works Enclosure Little Muddy Lake Dam at Camp Mackall, Scotland County, North Carolina: Determination of Eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places Jessica R. French* Cultural Resources Management Program Environmental Management Branch Directorate of Public Works Fort Bragg, North Carolina May, 20 2015 Final Report *This project was supported in part by an appointment to the Environmental Management Participation Program for the U.S. Army Environmental Command (USAEC) administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) through an agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and USAEC. Table of Contents Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................2 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................3 Historic Context ...........................................................................................................................4 Setting...........................................................................................................................................7 Architectural Description .............................................................................................................8 Integrity ........................................................................................................................................9 Recommendation of Eligibility ..................................................................................................10 Appendix A: Maps (Figures 4–6) and Photographs (Figures 7–16) ..........................................11 Bibliography ...............................................................................................................................20 2 Introduction In accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), the Fort Bragg Cultural Resources Management Program (CRMP) is responsible for the identification, evaluation, and management of cultural resources located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In addition to the installation cantonment, training lands and firing ranges, the Fort Bragg Military Reservation includes Pope Army Airfield, Simmons Army Airfield and a satellite installation, Camp Mackall. Under Section 106 and Section 110 of the NHPA, the CRMP staff initiated a project to evaluate the circa (ca.) 1943 Little Muddy Lake Dam at Camp Mackall for its eligibility for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The Fort Bragg Directorate of Public Works plans to demolish and replace the dam’s original spillway structure, remove mature trees from both sides of the earth embankment, grade and repair the earthwork, and stabilize portions of the dam with granite rip-rap. This work will be undertaken in response to a periodic dam inspection performed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The 2012 dam inspection report concludes that the dam is in poor condition and further indicates that the structure is subject to failure; the dam is currently rated as a “high hazard” structure.1 Figure 1. This early 1943 Steam Distribution System map of Camp Mackall shows Little Muddy Lake Dam (circled in red) before the lake bed was flooded (Fort Bragg CRMP Archives). 1 Dawn M. Wetzel and Susan M. Bruns, “Periodic Inspection Report: Little Muddy Lake Dam, Camp Mackall Military Reservation, North Carolina,” Engineer Research and Development Center, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, April 2012, 3–10. 3 The planned structural modifications and earthwork repairs will result in significant, non- reversible alterations to this