The Chief of Engineers signed a report recommending authorization of flood protection measures for the Town of Princeville, the first municipality in America incorporated by freed slaves in 1885. At the end of the Civil War freed slaves occupied low-lying land in the Tar River floodplain, purchased plots from local landowners, and eventually incorporated the town as the "Town of Princeville." Princeville has been repeatedly flooded during many years since its founding. In 1999, Hurricane Floyd produced catastrophic flooding and the damage and destruction of 1,000 residential structures. Up to twenty feet of water stood in Princeville for nearly 10 days until the Tar River water levels subsided enough that the floodwaters drained or could be pumped from town. The recommended plan to reduce flood damages and risks to life and safety by installing flap gates on twelve un-gated culverts beneath U.S. Highway 64 and NC Highway 111; raising a highway interchange to prevent floodwaters from entering the community; constructing a levee to prevent over-topping along a low spot on a U.S highway; and constructing a low levee and raising sections of roads in the northern and eastern areas of town to prevent circumvention of floodwaters around the existing levee project at a cost of $21.5M.
The Army Corps of Engineers Helps Prepare Princeville
By Ms. Moira L Kelley (ASA (CW))March 25, 2016
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