Rehabbing Old Post District history

Courtesy Photo | A vintage postcard, postmarked 1939, depicts the Fort Bragg Artillery Stables Area buildings, with horse-drawn elements of the 2nd Battalion, 83rd Field Artillery Regiment on what is now Woodruff Street in the Old Post Historic District. The Artillery Stables Area, along with the Quartermaster Stables Area further east on Woodruff Street, are soon to be the subject of an “Adaptive Reuse Study” by the Savannah District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, based upon a report that Fort Bragg’s Cultural Resources Management Program is now compiling. (Photo courtesy of Frank Hall Collection, Fort Bragg Cultural Resources Management Program Archives)  

FORT BRAGG, NC, UNITED STATES

02.20.2015

Story by Staff Sgt. Todd Pouliot 

22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment   

FORT BRAGG, N.C. - The Old Post Historic District of Fort Bragg lies just northeast of Reilly Road in what used to be the original cantonment of Camp Bragg, a temporary field artillery training camp for the U.S. Army built in 1918. Numerous buildings constructed between the late 1920s through the late 1930s, after the War Department chose to transform the camp into a permanent field artillery training center, continue to be utilized today, though not as they were originally designed.

Two specific sites within the OPHD are soon to be the subject of an “Adaptive Reuse Study” by the Savannah District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, based upon a report that Fort Bragg’s Cultural Resources Management Program is now compiling.

The sites, the Artillery Stables Area and the Quartermaster Stables Area, are vestiges of the Army’s transformation from horse and mule power to gasoline power. According to Jessica French, an architectural preservationist with Fort Bragg’s CRMP, because of their historical importance, the buildings must be treated according to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. The study will ensure that any future treatment to the buildings will be in compliance with the standards so that future generations will be able to utilize them.

The Artillery Stables Area, bordered by Reilly Road, Woodruff Street, Jackson Street and Letterman Street, contains eight former horse and mule stables, 10 gun sheds, two stable guard quarters, and two blacksmith and saddlers’ shops. The Quartermaster Stable Area, further east on Woodruff Street, has two horse and mule stables, and a stable guard quarters. As the Army moved toward mechanization, these buildings were reutilized for maintaining the Army’s growing stock of motorized vehicles.

According to French, the report will include a history of the buildings and standards for treating the buildings according to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. The USACE team’s study will address how to implement the standard treatments through conceptual site plans, floor plans and elevation drawings.

“Over the years, the buildings have undergone some in-fills, different door treatments, and a variety of different windows,” French said. “With this study, if they were to be renovated, they would have a more standard look than they do now. They would follow the recommendations that we laid out. So, in the end they will have a more uniformed look.”

All but a few of these buildings continue to be used as motor pools today. Most are now utilized as administrative buildings and warehouses. French said the buildings are not ideal for contemporary motor pools and the study will likely show that they are more suitable for further administrative use based on the needs of Fort Bragg.

According to French, the study will provide an explicit plan for future renovations which will help keep future generations of the Fort Bragg community connected to its history, keep its historical buildings in good condition, and provide a pleasing place to work.

• Date Taken: 02.20.2015
• Date Posted: 02.27.2015 14:52
• Story ID: 155574
• Location: FORT BRAGG, NC, US