Works Progress Administration Restoration

Following the war, Tennessee was readmitted to the Union on July 24, 1866. The following year, the Federal government returned St. Cloud Hill to the original landowners—one of Nashville’s oldest families—the Overtons. The city of Nashville purchased it from the Overton family in 1928 and ultimately protected the area by making it a city park.

During the 1930s, state and federal agencies were formed to provide job programs for those left unemployed by the GreatDepression. Many of these agencies focused on public works projects, and one such project was the restoration of Fort Negley. In 1935, the Tennessee Emergency Relief Administration hired 350 men to work on the project. On May 12, they unearthed the original foundations, and in June the workforce was expanded to 1,150 men working in two shifts of 575. While only men were hired, there is evidence that both white and Black men worked on the restoration. 

Work was suspended due to a lack of funding, but in August 1935, the U.S. Works Progress Administration, called the WPA, stepped in to finish the restoration. The Tennessean newspaper reported that Fort Negley was, at that time, the largest single project in Davidson County. In March 1936, the National Youth Administration added 145 young men to the project. With the fort structure largely complete by July, more than 200 men began landscaping the site, while the NYA worked on the athletic fields. The WPA completed the fort’s restoration on December 13, 1936.

The Tennessean published an article in 1935; the author wrote: "At the darkest of the depression hundreds of citizens found wages at Fort Negley, and hundreds of citizens who have now returned to private jobs can go back to the scene with gratification at their accomplishment. These are the new 'Veterans of Fort Negley' and the restored fort must serve also as a marker of the engagement joined there as at many another site throughout the land--before the battle of economic distress was won."

Much of the stonework you see above ground was built between during this restoration. In addition to the stonework, the WPA crews also rebuilt the wooden and earthen works and stockades as they would have existed during the Civil War. One unfortunate side effect of this project was the eviction of so-called “squatters” who lived on St. Cloud Hill. The park opened in 1938, but it did not remain open for long. World War II diverted funds and attention from the fort’s maintenance and, in 1945, it was closed to the public.

As you continue along the asphalt path, you will see a Nashville Sites QR Code placard on a large, wooden pole to the right. Enjoy the final stop of the tour here.