By Jennifer Stultz
Tri-County Tribune Editor
jstultz@cherryroad.com
A $15,000 state grant-funded survey will take place in the City of Stafford during the months of February and March to determine the scope of project that could restore up to 40 properties that have historical value.
According to Ryan Russell, Director of Stafford County Economic Development, the survey, which begins February 7, will be conducted by EOCENE Environmental Group Inc., led by architectural historian and surveyor Miranda Black. Her ground research will cover an area that includes both sides of Main Street between Stafford Street to Camden Street. It includes both sides of E. Stafford Street from Main to N. Prairie Avenue; N. Union Avenue between Broadway and Stafford; W. Broadway on the north side of the street between Main and Union.
A public meeting at 1:30 p.m. on February 3 at the Stafford City Hall will give local residents a chance to ask questions about the project and discuss the historical significance downtown area in Stafford.
“Stafford County Economic Development, in partnership with the City of Stafford and the Stafford County Museum, applied for an won a $15,000 historic survey grant from Heritage Preservation Fund (HPF),” Russell said. “The survey project will include the completion of a comprehensive survey of an estimated 40 historic parcels, including buildings, structures, sites, and objects in downtown Stafford. The majority of the buildings within the project area is owned by the city of Stafford or the County Museum.”
Russell said the objectives of the survey include the identification of potentially significant properties that appear to retain both historical significance and integrity. The historical surveyor will then evaluate buildings and properties for eligibility for the National Registry of Historic Places. She will also make recommendations for potential historic district designations.
The project will be prepared in accordance with (a) National Register Bulletin: Guidelines for Local Surveys; (b) State Historical Preservation Office’s HPF Grant-Funded Survey Requirements (2018) and (c) instructions for KHRI web-based GIS database.
As part of the survey work, Black will will be in Stafford for a few days taking pictures of buildings, doing research, and interviewing people. People with ownership of buildings in the survey area are asked to grant access to the surveyor.
A news release for the project stated that Black received her Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology with a minor in Religion and a focus in Cherokee Archaeology in 2018. Upon graduation, she was offered a grant-funded position with Western Carolina University to work on an internship project as the Archaeology Laboratory’s Assistant Curator. As she continued her studies, she received a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Public History with a focus in Historic Preservation in 2019.
Black went on to work as Assistant Museum Manager and Facilities Coordinator for the Shelton House Museum in Waynesville, North Carolina, where she expanded upon her interests in community-based preservation, artifact management, and physical material restoration. She furthered her studies by pursuing a Masters of Historic Preservation at the University of Georgia in 2020, participating in multiple service-learning projects and contributing to NRHP nominations. During her time as a student, Black held various student internships as well as a role as an architectural field surveyor. Black continued her professional training in cultural resource management as an Architectural Historian in Oklahoma.
Black will record oral and written comments in the City of Stafford survey which will become a part of Stafford Economic Development Inc.’s Citizen Participation Plan, Russell said.
