Contractors being sought to stabilize Silver Street in Natchez

NATCHEZ, Miss. – Contractors are being asked to submit proposals for how much they’ll charge to repair the retaining wall that helps support the popular Natchez street that runs through the historic Under-the Hill waterfront district along the Mississippi River.

 

With about $680,000 the city has in federal and local funds for the project, the work is needed “to safeguard a very important wall that holds up Silver Street,” said Mayor Dan Gibson.

Deterioration is imperiling the brick structure that runs below the street in front of The Camp restaurant and Under-the-Hill Saloon. The Natchez Board of Aldermen on Tuesday agreed to get proposals from contractors on the costs to stabilize it.

Previous construction bids received last November exceeded what was available in federal and local funds, but the city since then was able to get additional funds from the Delta Regional Authority. The federal agency recently allocated about $132,000 to add to the $380,000 it gave Natchez in 2023.

The Delta Regional Authority is an agency of federal and state governments to foster economic and community development in Mississippi, Louisiana and six other states.

In other action Tuesday, Natchez aldermen voted to put up $25,000 to help apply for a federal historic preservation grant for Auburn, the city-owned antebellum mansion. The federal government is providing up to $750,000 to help preserve historical buildings, sites and other assets as the United States next year celebrates the 250th anniversary of its independence.

 Auburn – built in 1812 and located at Duncan Park – needs a fire-suppression system, new electrical wiring and other upgrades, said Carter Burns, executive director of the Historic Natchez Foundation that oversees the mansion’s maintenance.

While local matching funds are not required, they improve the chances for Natchez to be awarded the historic preservation grant, Burns said. There’s a March deadline to apply for the money. The Semiquincentennial Grant Program is administered by the National Park Service.

Built 213 years ago, Auburn is one of the earliest mansions constructed in Natchez and the first with classical architectural designs, according to the Historic Natchez Foundation. The Federal-style house with its Roman Ionic columns has been designated a National Historic Landmark by the federal government. Auburn was donated to the city by the Duncan family in 1910 along with the adjoining 203 acres that’s now Duncan Park.