phoenix/yaryan naval stores

adaptive-reuse

The Phoenix Naval Stores was an early site of African-American industrial work in the Deep South. This work, while providing steady income, was dangerous, and many African-Americans worked in jobs where social inequalities, vulnerabilities and workplace tragedies occurred on a regular basis. In 1943 two separate explosions occurred at the Phoenix Naval Stores turpentine plant.
The building was originally located about 940 feet from its current location at the bend of Creosote Road. It was moved down Creosote Road prior to 1950 for reuse as a single-family residence. In 2001, the Turkey Creek community was placed on the 10 Most Endangered Places list by the Mississippi Heritage Trust.

The renovation, funded by a National Park Service Civil Rights Grant, includes renovation of the wood framed building to become a community history center and archive for the Turkey Creek community. The cement plaster walls and roof will be restored to its original height, the wraparound porch reconstructed, and the interior refinished.

PROJECT DETAILS
Completion 2020
Cost: $450,000
Project Team:
unabridged Architecture, Architect
Sparks Engineering, Historic Structural
Gulf Coast Community Design Studio
Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain, Grantee