18-month project bringing changes to Fort Fisher State Historic Site

KURE BEACH, NC (WWAY) — Major changes are coming to the landscape at Fort Fisher State Historic Site.

Visitors can expect the changes to begin late this month as construction on a newly-expanded visitor center and underwater archaeology building gets underway.

The site will remain open to visitors throughout the 18-month long project, but construction fencing around the site’s existing parking lot will likely be the first of many growing pains faced by state officials and site staff. Staff expect parking to shift from its current location to a grassy area south of the museum known as “the south airstrip.”

For now, public parking will remain free of charge, as it has since the original visitor’s center opened in the 1960s.

Normal operating hours — Tuesday-Sunday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. — will also not change.