Deed/Injunction Package July 7, 2006
Cover letter:
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Fort Attaway Preservation Society
www.fortattaway.com
1202 DeSoto Ave
Rome, GA 30165
(706) 234-0537
July 7, 2006
Mr. Don Klima
Advisory Council of Historic Preservation
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Room 803
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Mr. Klima,
I am sorry to be talking to you about a subject so in depth, but it is not of my creation. Just as my forefathers had to fight for what they believed in, and so must I.
Seven scores ago my property was used by the people of my fair city, a sister city of Rome, Italy, a city of seven hills, Rome, GA to defend their Civil Rights. Today Sir, I must do the same.
The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has used their unlimited resources to overrun me and my historic property purposefully and methodically overwhelming my lack of resources. The GDOT used their familiarity of the Section 106 processes to their own advantage, orchestrating their many specialized departments and working in unison on the Section 106 paperwork. Their historian used his knowledge of this process along with his knowledge of history to wrangle every issue by the Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR-HPD.) His lack of documentation standards and professionalism in these dealings with the DNR-HPD was obvious in his misuse of information, aggressiveness, tone, his denial of proven history and his use of second hand information instead of facts, not to mention using the barter system.
During the Civil War, Rome’s role was obvious due to its central and easily accessible location, its many foundries, munitions, textile-mills and hospitals. Rome’s role as a hub for transportation was equally important, with its railroads and rivers complementing and defining this vital role as having the ability to easily and repeatedly deliver or access these services that were extremely vital to the Confederate Army’s survival. The defenses of Rome’s resources, and its ability to access these resources accented its role as a transportation hub, and again clearly defined Rome’s important role. Its irreplaceability to the Confederate Army and these same roles in its history continue to speak for themselves even today. Today, Rome’s large medical industry, remaining textile-mills and metal working industry all combined together are the reason Rome needs to upgrade its roads.
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Rome’s defenses, their size and extent also could be used to debate their role
of support in the defense of Atlanta, or the defenses role in General Sherman’s
use of them to defend his Army as they prepared for his March to the sea.
In Confederate Major Gen. Samuel G. French’s own works to his courier, “Report
to General Ector and tell him his men are not to board the Kingston train. They
are to move north, across the river into the earthworks. They are all I have to
stop the Yankees from taking this town” (North Georgia Journal, Winter 2000.) As
suggested here, Gen. French used approximately 2000 men to confront the entire 2nd
Division of the Union Army General Davis. In my opinion, Rome’s role in
Atlanta’s defenses is yet to unfold, perhaps even hangs in the balance of my
preservation efforts to save Fort Attaway and its information potential. While
Atlanta’s role is clearly documented as the turn of the Civil War and as the
starting point of Sherman’s March to the Sea, Rome’s role in both is yet to be
determined.
Rome’s defenses, spoke very clearly and very imposingly to Union General Jefferson C. Davis and his officers, Col. Dan McCook and Col. Dilworth, on their approach to Rome. On their first view of Rome’s defenses, this very ground (I, David Fowler Jr., have spent my entire life on, never knowing and never understanding) General Davis and his officers were intimidated. General Davis surveyed the fort that loomed before him and in his direct path was this very fort – Fort Attaway. This US Army General Jefferson Davis, battle hardened, with the name of General Jefferson Davis, whose name itself had only to have brought toughness as it also belonged to the very head of the snake that he and his superior, General Sherman, were ordered to cut off. With eyes which had seen death up close of a massive scale, hands still bloody with his soldiers’ blood, a man of judgment, to which I do not even begin to compare myself to – my judgment and certainly not my opinion. Davis, a chosen leader of men, brave men whose lives they gave to him to decide, this warrior of the United States Army, General Jefferson C. Davis opinioned on Rome that it was, “…the strongest fortified place I have seen in Dixie.” (War of the Rebellion – Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Vol. 38, Part IV, pp. 235)
The agents of the GDOT, namely the GDOT Historian and the District R/W Team Manager were provided with, by a local Civil War buff, the correct in-depth knowledge of the exact history of the subject property that is in the Area of Potential Effects of the GDOT Project STP-017-3(45). In this situation, condemnation is being used to take this historic property deceptively. The GDOT has been lawyer informed, on paper, that they were negligent in their ways of arranging facts to “purposefully mislead the public.” Although fully aware and lawyer informed, these same GDOT agents continued to do these deceptive practices in preparation of Section 106 paperwork, with the history of, the size of, location of, military actions of and at Fort Attaway. This Civil War buff I speak of, is an award winning writer, a lawyer and ironically a GDOT condemnation lawyer, has offered to go to court for me about these issues, not for the GDOT for whom pays him money. Maybe things will play out a little differently in this attack on Rome’s defenses. Defenses so ingeniously engineered to purposely use Fort Attaway to lure the attackers in, just as it was engineered to do some seven score ago: Fort Attaway has drawn the opposing force so far into its kill sack that they can not escape unscathed.
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In the beginning of the GDOT’s misleading and negligence is the
Survey/Eligibility Report PI# 620590 HP# 010514-001 for the former Selma, Rome &
Dalton and Associated Railroad Bridge dated July 9, 2001. I will here describe
the misleading information that was created, which was further used in the
eligibility report for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligible
Fort Attaway. The Survey/Eligibility Report found that the railroad bridge was
only eligible in Criteria A of the NRHP’s criteria. Under the heading of:
National Register Criteria and Level of Significance the GDOT do a lot of
extra work to prove it not eligible under Criteria B, including “background
research” on the project area, “deed research” on the property, or “its ability
to affiliate any famous individuals who contributed to history.” They also do a
lot of extra work to prove the railroad bridge is not eligible in Criteria C and
D, which is used later against Fort Attaway. They go out of their way to include
phrases like, “the type and methods of construction are not unusual, and the
property represents a well documented type or style of architecture. Also, there
are no indications that the property is likely to yield important information on
important research question in history or prehistory. This property does not
appear to have the potential to be the principal source of information.
Therefore, there was no basis on evaluating the property under Criteria C or D.”
No basis for metal detecting seems to me. Under the heading of Location,
“northeasterly” is used in its description, but later is said to run “east/west”
when described under the heading of National Register Criteria and Level of
Significance. To continue with the intended later use of deception they say,
“However, the railroad has been determined not to possess integrity in the area
of setting due to substantial residential and commercial development along this
portion of the rail line, the “historic setting of the railroad has been
severely compromised.” Under the heading of Proposed Boundary, the claim
“formed by the existing railroad right of way and contains all contributing
features of the railroad inside that right of way” is used. This wording will
also be used once corrected to vindicate Fort Attaway’s remaining portion, which
I am involved in saving. The two historic property boundaries (Railroad Bridge
and Fort Attaway) are incorrect and are misrepresented by the GDOT. These two
boundaries are corrected by the deed that shows there is only 50 feet of
right-of-way on the Norfolk Southern track that runs from US 27 to North 2nd
Avenue. With the correct right-of-way of 50 feet the eligible boundary of Fort
Attaway extends and the boundary for the eligible Selma, Rome & Dalton Railroad
becomes smaller. The deed work will retroactively tumble this survey’s incorrect
use of facts. The GDOT agents were acting intentionally and with purpose, and
indeed were “negligent” in their ways of arranging facts to “purposefully
mislead the public.” They again were negligent in their way of arranging facts
to “purposefully mislead the public” with wording in:
1. the July 31, 2001 GDOT Project STP-017-3(45), Floyd County and HP# 010514-001: Section 106 Compliance – Federal Highways Administration Assessment of Effects and Memorandum of Agreement;
2. the January 11, 2002 Section 106 Addendum HP010514-001; and
3. the December 17, 2002 Section 106 Addendum #2.
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In the above mentioned documents, underhanded and misleading tactics were used
to violate my civil rights and to gain unfair advantage through paperwork. I
will not stoop to these same underhanded tactics. There is no reason for me to
explain, nor argue pointlessly with the GDOT (or the carpetbaggers hired by the
GDOT to destroy our historic properties.) Instead, I bring these issues to you,
Sir, a man of stature and the God given ability to stop this slaughter of my
historic land, my heritage, my only remains of this beautiful lady, the historic
Civil War fort, Fort Attaway. These are also the remains that belong to the more
largely and fittingly history of the Civil War, the bloodiest war ever on this
continent that tore apart our country for four years. These remains belong to
its people and their ancestors, not to the GDOT! These entire remains are a
piece of my heritage and to this day have the “information potential” to solve
questions about Civil War history, Civil War engineering, Rome’s history, Rome’s
role in the Civil War, etc.
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Included with this letter:
One Letter to HB Cundiff from John Bennett, Rome City Manager dated May 7, 1985
One Letter to John Bennett from Chief Engineer Bridges dated June 7, 1985
One E-mail from Richard Cloues, Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer, DNR-HPD to Mark Grindstaff, Historian, GDOT dated June 18, 2002
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One Interdepartmental Correspondence from Alton L. Dowd, Jr., GDOT Director of
Pre-construction dated October 18, 1985 to Floyd E. Hardy, GDOT State Road and
Airport Design Engineer
One letter to GDOT contractor CW Mathews from the Fort Attaway Preservation Society Included with this letter is:
§ Appendix A - Deed work that shows there is only 50 ft. of right-of-way on the Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks that they plan to move onto Fort Attaway’s military face. The deed work also shows that there is only 25 ft. on the other side of the railroad bridge
§ Appendix B - Eligibility letter from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources – Historic Preservation Division that is used to
§ Appendix C - The professional historic report done by an independent expert is enclosed along with a boundary description
§ Appendix D - E-mail from Dan Roper, GDOT condemnation lawyer, to Pam Digsby, GDOT Right-of-Way – Mr. Roper declares that the GDOT will be negligent if they use GDOT Historian, Mark Grindstaff’s misleading history report on Fort Attaway.
§ Appendix E - A letter from GDOT lawyer himself, Dan Roper, saying he would be glad to go to court to testify against the GDOT on this matter
One Injunction document that has stopped the GDOT Project STP-017-3(45) until they provide documentation that proves their claim of 100 ft. of right-of-way on the strip of Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks between US 27/Martha Berry Hwy and North 2nd Avenue.
In submitting to you my humble opinion, I beg you for relief of this enormous historical burden as I serve only my history, my heritage and my heart!
David M. Fowler, Jr.
Fort Attaway Preservation Society
www.fortattaway.com
Cc:
John Bennett, Rome City Manager
GA. Representative Paul Smith
GA. Representative Phil Gringrey
John J. Sweeney, President AFL-CIO
Ray Lerer, State Law Department
Dan Vivian, Assistant to the Chief of National Register of Historic Places
Janet Snyder-Matthews – Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places
Robert Callan, Federal Highways Administration
Ed Bearss
Dana, Shoaf, America’s Civil War
Mike Toner, Atlanta Journal and Constitution
Jeff Evans, Battlefield Journal
Jason L. Roth, Blue and Gray Magazine
Editor, Camp Chase Gazette
Tiffany Cuttshaw, Civil War Courier
Joe Avalon, Civil War Interactive
Kay Jorgenson, Civil War News
Dr. Ann J. Bailey, Georgia Historical Quarterly
Pierre Noth, Rome News Tribune
Dawn Wood, Summerville News
Stacey McCain, Washington (DC) Times
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Fort
Attaway Public Announcement
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The Fort Attaway Preservation Society would like to announce that July 4th again, is a day for celebrating the start of a battle over unjust government suppression in the year of 2006 for two battles:
§ first and foremost, we celebrate the birth of and our continuing battle for a free nation based on liberty and justice for all. § Secondly, poetically, we celebrate the granting of an injunction to stop the Georgia Department of Transportation Project STP-017-3(45) because July 4th, 2006 just as in 1776 we proudly continue this battle to save liberty and justice for all.
The Georgia Department of Transportation, with funding from the Federal Highways Administration, in an effort to receive this funding has attempted to destroy the very heritage, the very mind set of Freedom which created this great nation some 230 years ago.
On the start of this July 4th long weekend Fort Attaway fired her artillery again! On Thursday, July 6th, 2006 Judge Colston will hear the voice of freedom this great nation humbly supplies. Thursday, Judge Colston will rule on deed documentation certified first by the Superior Court of our own Floyd County, and secondly by a professional deed research specialist which we proudly and freely present that the railroad right-of-way involved in the battle to save Fort Attaway is 50 feet from US 27/Martha Berry Highway west to North 2nd Avenue. The Georgia Department of Transportation makes an undocumented, unproven boast of 100 feet of railroad right-of-way from US 27/Martha Berry Highway west to North 2nd Avenue.
The Georgia Department of Transportation with the backing of the Federal Highways Administration also used an undocumented, unproven boast of 100 feet of railroad right-of-way east of US 27/Martha Berry Highway extending to the Oostanaula River. This railroad right-of-way, according to the Superior Court of Floyd County, is certified in a deed as 25 feet starting at the eastern most edge of Rome’s pre-Civil War rock quarry, known to us as the business location of, and poetically named, Heritage Nisson. The owners of this pre-Civil War quarry reserved the expansion of this portion of the railroad’s right-of-way until the rock, which still remains, is removed. This rock itself is historic; these very limestone bluffs are a major intrical part of Rome’s defenses during the Civil War. The fact that time and politics of Rome’s government has approved therefore has allowed valuable flood plain to be filled in does not change the fact that these very historic limestone rock bluffs that once towered over low lying farm land and in the words of the Union Brigadier General Jefferson C. Davis himself proclaiming upon his capture of Rome, it was, “the strongest fortified place I have seen in Dixie.”
Injunction filed by: Wright Gammon (who is running for State House Representative for the 16th District) of Gammon, Anderson, and McFall, Cedartown, GA.
Fort Attaway Preservation Society, Inc. Click here for the entire Injunction 6/30/06
Restraining Order 6/30/06: after reading the restraining order Judge Colston
ordered the
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Produced by:
Fort Attaway Preservation Society, Inc.
1202 Desoto Avenue, Rome, GA 30165 (706)234-0537
f_marlin@bellsouth.net
