**NOTE: This event has been postponed**
The public is invited to attend a groundbreaking ceremony at Fort Fisher State Historic Site Thursday, Nov. 10, at 12:30 p.m. The ceremony will mark the launch of construction of a new historic site visitor center and a conservation lab for the Underwater Archaeology Branch of the N.C. Office of State Archaeology, currently headquartered at Fort Fisher. Construction is expected to be completed in April 2024. The new facilities will cost approximately $25.5 million, most of which has been appropriated by the N.C. General Assembly since 2016.
In planning since 2010, the new visitor center is expected to serve more than one million visitors a year. At 22,000 square feet, it will be three times the size of the existing facility built in 1965. The new visitor center will have nearly double the museum exhibit space, plus amenities such as a 100-seat orientation theater and a multipurpose room suitable for rental and educational activities such as wedding receptions and classroom instruction. Attendees will include state Secretary D. Reid Wilson of the Department of Natural of Cultural Resources, members of the General Assembly and members of the Friends of Fort Fisher. Light refreshments will be served.
Located at 1610 Fort Fisher Blvd S, Kure Beach, N.C., Fort Fisher is part of the Division of State Historic Sites in the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR), the state agency with a vision to be the leader in using the state’s natural and cultural resources to build the social, cultural, educational, and economic future of North Carolina. NCDNCR's mission is to improve the quality of life in our state by creating opportunities to experience excellence in the arts, history, libraries, and nature in North Carolina by stimulating learning, inspiring creativity, preserving the state’s history, conserving the state’s natural heritage, encouraging recreation and cultural tourism, and promoting economic development.
About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR) is the state agency with a vision to be the leader in using the state's natural and cultural resources to build the social, cultural, educational and economic future of North Carolina. NCDNCR's mission is to improve the quality of life in our state by creating opportunities to experience excellence in the arts, history, libraries and nature in North Carolina by stimulating learning, inspiring creativity, preserving the state's history, conserving the state's natural heritage, encouraging recreation and cultural tourism, and promoting economic development.
NCDNCR includes 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, three science museums, three aquariums and Jennette's Pier, 41 state parks and recreation areas, the N.C. Zoo, the N.C. Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, State Preservation Office and the Office of State Archaeology, and the Division of Land and Water Stewardship. For more information, please visit www.ncdcr.gov.