NATCHEZ — The City of Natchez will soon be the proud owner of the bean field.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Phil Bryant, Nicole Webb, said the governor has signed into law House Bill 787, measure that will transfer 80.39 acres of land from state ownership to the city.

The transfer comes in three parcels, 21.4 acres, 37.09 acres and 29.9 acres.

Rep. Robert Johnson, D-Natchez, who sponsored the legislation, said he was pleased it had been signed and characterized the action as “one of the great things government is doing in Southwest Mississippi.

The legislation has an easement restricting the use of the 21.4-acre and 37.09-acre parcel to “public recreational or educational purposes or similar public uses” that are “compatible with the Natchez Trace Parkway.” The land is located near the southern terminus of the Parkway and near St. Catherine Creek.

While the third parcel will be transferred to the City, the legislation says it will be sold, and according to the legislation the proceeds will be split three ways:

4One third will be used for the historic Natchez riverfront.

4One third will be used for infrastructure and other costs as contributions to capital projects by the National Park Service in Adams County.

4One third will be use for infrastructure and other costs as contributions to capital projects by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History in Adams County. The third parcel is across U.S. 84/U.S. 61 from the other properties near Walmart.

Former city attorney Walter Brown, who helped craft the legislation, characterized it as “good legislation for our community.”

“It was a team effort by the mayor, board of aldermen, legislators, the Natchez-Adams County Recreation Commission, the city engineering department and at the federal level for getting the land back into the state,” he said.

“The good news is the land that will be sold not only will it be sold and back on the tax rolls, but it is on the busiest corridor in town.”

Under the legislation, the State of Mississippi retains the mineral rights for the property and restricts any casino or gaming development on the property.

The land transfer was first conceived in 1999 as part of a big picture plan for long-term development of a recreation complex. While the site has long been discussed, no firm plans for it have been developed.

The transfer required an act of Congress and legislative approval before it could be completed.

The National Park Service had at one time purchased portions of the property for the Natchez Trace Parkway, but the land became surplus after the terminus of the parkway was moved slightly further south. Because the U.S. government cannot sell land it first had to be given to the state before it could be transferred to the city.

U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran hosted a ceremony transferring the land to the state in Natchez last fall.

Brown said a formal delivery of the deed to the city similar to the transfer from the U.S. to Mississippi should happen within 30 days.