NC Division of State Historic Sites announces opening date for new Fort Fisher visitor center

KURE BEACH, NC (WWAY) — According to the NC Department of Natural Resources and the NC Division of State Historic Sites, the new visitor center at Fort Fisher State Historic Site will open to the public Friday, September 27, 2024. Operating hours are from 9 am – 5 pm. Admission and parking are free.

Fort Fisher temporarily closed to the public in mid-April 2024, allowing staff members to relocate offices, artifacts, and exhibits to the site’s new and long-awaited 20,000 sq. ft visitor center. The new visitor center is expected to serve more than 1 million annual visitors. The original visitor center, built in 1965, was expected to accommodate an estimated 25,000 visitors per year.

Known as the Gibraltar of the South, Fort Fisher protected the port of Wilmington during the American Civil War until it fell to US forces in January 1865. In 1961, the site was designated a National Historic Landmark. Its original visitor center was built to accommodate an expected 25,000 visitors a year.