VIDALIA &045;&045; The old courthouse may soon become a national treasure.

A presentation will soon be made to a state review committee about adding the building to the National Register of Historic Places. The register is the nation’s official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation. The hearing will take place on Dec. 9.

&uot;This will be good for the community,&uot; said Amanda Taylor, Concordia Parish library director. &uot;It’s a source of pride.&uot;

If the old courthouse makes it onto the National Register, it will be the first listed building in the city limits. The effort began when the library board began planning a renovation project for the Vidalia branch, which is housed in the old parish courthouse. The police jury asked Taylor and her staff to investigate the possibility as part of the project.

That’s when Donna Bricker became involved. Working out of the Division of Historic Preservation, Bricker coordinates presentations made to the State Review Committee for The National Register. &uot;I walk people through the process,&uot; said Bricker. &uot;I provide guidance and explore possibilities.&uot;

&uot;We were nervous because we hadn’t done this before,&uot; Taylor said. &uot;Mrs. Bricker was a huge help.&uot;

The possibility that Bricker and the library staff came up with addresses the reason for the building’s construction.

&uot;This is what makes it unique… the entire town was moved back from the Mississippi River by the federal government,&uot; said Bricker.

From 1938 to the middle of 1939, Vidalia was moved back from the riverbank to make way for a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers levee project.

The move was handled by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), one of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal programs aimed at providing work to those struck hard by the Great Depression.

Many of the structures were moved, but some like the old courthouse were rebuilt. &uot;The move is the most important event in the history of the town,&uot; Bricker said. &uot;Registering the building is a great way to tell the story.&uot;

The assessment wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work of the library staff. They augmented Bricker’s research with a wealth of documents outlining the building’s history. Material came from a variety of sources, including newspaper stories from the period, Louisiana State Library photographs and maps produced by an insurance company that mapped communities for fire insurance purposes.

&uot;The Vidalia staff spent hours providing material to us,&uot; Bricker said.

Bricker thinks the presentation, which will be conveyed as a narrative, has the qualities necessary for serious consideration.

&uot;There are many ways to gage the significance of a building. The moving seems to be a mighty strong case.&uot;

The presentation to the state committee is the second step in a three-part process for inclusion on the prestigious list. If the committee approves, the presentation then goes before the National Parks Service, which manages the National Register.

Nearly 77,000 listings make up the National Register, including all historic areas in the National Park System and National Historic Landmarks designated by the Secretary of the Interior. The majority of the listings are properties across the country nominated by governments, organizations, and individuals because of significance to a community, state or the nation.