1997 Fort Benning Historic Resource Survey Update

The 1997 Fort Benning Historic Resource Survey Update was carried out under the direction of Larry R. Jones, Historic Architect with the Directorate of Public Works of the Environmental Management Division of the U.S. Army Infantry Center at Fort Benning, Georgia, as part of Contract No. DABT 1 0-96-D-0039, Delivery Order No.2. This survey was a follow-up to the 1987 Historic Resource Survey that documented Fort Benning resources built prior to 1935. The 1997 survey documented ninety-five resources built from 1935 through 1952 and also documented thirty-five pre-1935 buildings that were not included in the 1987 survey for a total of 130 resources. The purpose of the survey project was threefold:

1 . to revise and update the existing 1987 survey by documenting all previously unsurveyed resources built through 1952

2. to compile a comprehensive listing of all historic resources at Fort Benning to assist Fort Benning staff with responsibilities under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (see Appendix D)

3. to determine National Register eligibility for all properties built through 1952 (with the exception of those classified as World War II temporary), also in order to assist Fort Benning personnel with Section 106 compliance (see Appendix D) The project was carried out in four phases, the majority of which were completed in 1997. Phase 1 was a Preliminary Survey of over 1,000 resources built through 1965; this survey was used to help determine a cut-off date for the intensive survey. Phase 2 was the development of a Historic Context entitled, "Three Eras of Expansion: The Development of Fort Benning from World War II Through the Beginning of the Cold War." Phase 3 was an Intensive Survey of 144 resources that were constructed between the years 1919 and 1952. Of the hundreds of historic resources that were built at Fort Benning during these years, only 144 had not been previously surveyed or determined exempt from the survey and environmental review process (see Section 2.4: Phase 4: Treatment of World War II Temporary Military Buildings). (An original survey form was created for both the Preliminary Survey and the Intensive Survey.) Phase 4 was a Reconnaissance Survey of approximately 200 World War II temporary military buildings; the findings of this survey are discussed in Section 5.4: World War II Temporary Military Resources, 1939 - 1946. In addition to surveying and evaluating historic properties, the project involved preparing National Register nomination forms for three historic districts identified during the survey. The following products and publications have been produced as part of this project:

• 1997 Fort Benning Historic Resource Survey Update, Volume One: Survey Report

• 1997 Fort Benning Historic Resource Survey Update, Volume Two: Historic Resource Survey Forms, Photographs, and Maps

• Revised National Register Nomination Form for the Main Post Historic District

• National Register Nomination Form for the Parachute Jump Tower Historic District

• National Register Nomination Form for the Lawson Field Historic District

This report, the 1997 Fort Benning Historic Resource Survey Update, Volume One: Survey Report is divided into eight sections: Section 1.0: Introduction; Section 2.0: Methodology, which describes the four phases of the project; Section 3.0: Historic Context; Section 4.0: Survey Results, which provides summary information, in tabular form, about the 130 suNeyed resources; Section 5.0: Architectural Analysis, which breaks the resources into three periods of development and provides an architectural analysis of significant individual resources as well as general information about each period; Section 6.0: Discussion of National Register Eligibility, which discusses the National Register eligibility of five districts and eleven individual resources; Section 7.0: Recommendations; and Section 8.0: References.