NATCHEZ — More than 150 years since the second-largest slave market in the country closed, the Forks of the Road is on its way to becoming a landmark site.

The Natchez Preservation Commission unanimously voted Wednesday to recommend the Forks of the Road become a landmark site. The Natchez Board of Aldermen will have the final say.

The application for landmark status of the Forks of the Road was made by the Friends of the Forks of the Road, the Historic Natchez Foundation and the Natchez National Historical Park.

Friends of the Forks of the Road Coordinator Ser Seshsh ab Heter-C.M Boxley called the commission’s vote a small victory.

“It’s the way I begin to recharge after the (recent) loss to the interest of a developer,” Boxley said.

Boxley was referring to the city allowing Chartre Consulting to construct houses on historic Forks of the Road property.

“I decided after that, I would fight for the Forks of the Road to be preserved inch by inch,” he said.

Chartre has agreed to donate land that they do not plan to develop to the city, which can then turn it over to the National Parks Service to be made part of the Natchez National Historical Park.

Once the site of the second-largest slave market in the country before the Civil War, the site is set to be included in the Natchez National Historical Park as soon as Congress creates legislation to allow the transfer of the property.

NNHP Superintendent Kathleen Jenkins has said the Forks of the Road site is the only place in Natchez that has received international recognition by the United Nations because of its role in the international slave trade.

In other news from the meeting:

• The commission voted to approve the development of a wooden deck overlooking the river on the Natchez Trails on the bluff.

City Engineer and Community Alliance co-chairman David Gardner said the deck would be along the nature trail after descending the wooden staircase to the trail near the top of Silver Street.

Gardner said he envisions the deck as a simple treated wood deck with railing that would match the staircase.

Benches could also be placed on the deck, Gardner said.

The trees at the location of the deck would be trimmed to provide visitors a view of the river.

The project, which Gardner estimates at $20,000-$25,000, is next on the list for the Community Alliance, a nonprofit group that does at least one community improvement project each year.

• The commission approved the installation of a Shotcrete wall in an area of the Natchez City Cemetery that is suffering from erosion.