NATCHEZ &8212; Local representatives will head to Atlanta&8217;s National Park Service regional office in mid-January to talk about the Forks of the Road site.

The Natchez National Historic Park and the city will work prior to that date to come up with a proposed scope of work for a study of the former slave market site.

Then, it will simply be a matter of soliciting bids from consultants for a feasibility study of the site.

&8220;We&8217;ve got large volumes of historical research on the site,&8221; said city Grants Coordinator Brett Brinegar, who&8217;s working closely with Kathleen Jenkins, the park&8217;s interim superintendent, on the project.

&8220;Now we just need someone to look at the site and see what we can do with it&8221; to better tell its story, she added.

Not only that, but consultants will also study what the best management arrangement will be for the Forks of the Road site, including whether NPS should accept it into the park system, Jenkins said.

During the summer, Natchez aldermen voted to accept $147,000 from Congress through the Park Service for the feasibility study of the site.

The lot, located at St. Catherine Street and Liberty Road, was once the site of a large 19th-century slave market.

A kiosk with historical information, along with signage marking the site, now stands on the lot.

The feasibility study must be finished within two years.

Whether or not the Park Service accepts the site into its system, it&8217;s important that its story be told &8212; the story of people being taken thousands of miles from their families, only to be sold, Jenkins said.

&8220;It&8217;s an important part of telling the story of all peoples,&8221; she said. &8220;It&8217;s a tragic story.&8221;

And in addition, Jenkins noted, &8220;the fruits of (enslaved people&8217;s) labor are what made the wealth (of antebellum Natchez) possible.&8221;