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A resolution affirming the protection of Fort Negley.
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WHEREAS, Fort Negley is much more than a Civil War relic. It represents the hope of freedom, the injustice of enslavement, the still-felt effects of urban renewal, and a continued struggle for social and environmental equity within a rapidly changing urban environment; and
WHEREAS, Fort Negley presents the unique opportunity to interpret history from the Civil War to the Civil Rights movement at one location; and
WHEREAS, Fort Negley was built on St. Cloud Hill by the Union Army in 1862 two years before the Battle of Nashville by African American conscript laborers, predominately contrabands, and emancipated free blacks; and
WHEREAS, Hundreds of these African American workers gave their lives during the construction; and
WHEREAS, the site encompasses one of Nashville’s first post-war African American communities known as the ‘Bass Street Neighborhood;’’ and
WHEREAS, Fort Negley was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 by the Metro Historical Commission and Metro Parks; and
WHEREAS, the fort was designated as local Historic Landmark in 2005; and
WHEREAS, Fort Negley is a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) site in Tennessee and is recognized as a “Site of Memory in the Routes of Enslaved Peoples Project;” and
WHEREAS, this resolution is supported by the Friends of Fort Negley and the Nashville African American Cultural Alliance; and
WHEREAS, the property is managed by the Nashville Metropolitan Board of Parks & Recreation as one of Nashville’s most significant historic and cultural sites.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:
Section 1. That the Metropolitan Government hereby affirms that Fort Negley will be protected and preserved as an historic site of major significance and that it is to be used for educational purposes, archeological research, historic interpretation, and public park uses and shall not be developed for any purpose other than those proposed in the 2022 Fort Negley Master Plan.
Section 2. That any future renovations and plantings will be guided by the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and those set forth in the 2022 Fort Negley Master Plan.
Section 3. This resolution shall take effect from and after its passage, the welfare of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee requiring it.