In 2027, Fayetteville will be home to the NC History Center on the Civil War, Emancipation, and Reconstruction. Construction is underway now for this center of learning that will be pivotal in teaching North Carolinians of all ages about the years before, during, and after the Civil War.
But, don’t call it a museum.
A museum is a collection of artifacts, while this History Center will focus on telling the stories of the people, places and events surrounding the Civil War.
“The mission of the NC History Center on the Civil War, Emancipation & Reconstruction is to tell the stories of ALL North Carolinians and create a comprehensive, fact-based portrait of history that spans the Antebellum, Civil War, and Reconstruction periods.” (https://nccivilwarcenter.org/about/about-the-center/)
The History Center will be located at the site of the former Arsenal Park, and will take the place of the Museum of the Cape Fear.
The Arsenal
To get a complete picture of the significance of the location of the NC History Center, we have to go pretty far back in history, to the War of 1812. During that war, the federal government realized that it was ill-equipped to provide weapons and ammunition to protect the entire country. To help remedy that problem, several arsenals were built at strategic locations around the US. Fayetteville’s location on the Cape Fear River and at the crossroads of eight plank roads made it a prime location for one of the arsenals. At its peak, the Fayetteville arsenal produced 500 rifles per month, as well as swords, bayonets, and various forms of artillery, and employed around 2,000 people. In the spring of 1861, the arsenal was seized by the Fayetteville Light Infantry, part of the Confederate army.
On March 11, 1865, Union General Sherman and his troops destroyed the arsenal and all its machinery, in addition to shops, factories, and the Fayetteville Observer, which was a Confederate-leaning publication at the time. The ruins of the Fayetteville Arsenal are still present to this day, as part of the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex.
The History Center
The idea for a new type of museum came from meetings of local officials and volunteers. This board was awarded a $1 million planning grant from the N.C. General Assembly in 2007. That funding was used to hire groups who had experience starting many prestigious museums around the country, to include the Civil Rights Center in Greensboro. After more than 10 years of planning, research and preparation-which included assessment of existing resources, and gathering community-wide feedback, ground was broken on the History Center in April of 2018.
Progress So Far
Work thus far on the History Center consists of moving three Civil War-era houses to the site and refurbishing them. The three buildings are:
• The Arsenal House will serve as a classroom and distance learning studio for K-12 students, utilizing cutting-edge technology.
• The Culbreth House will become the Center for the Study of the Civil War and Reconstruction in North Carolina and will house the offices for the Center’s Foundation.
• The Davis House will be a support building for the other buildings and areas of the surrounding portion of Arsenal Park.
Work Still Ongoing
In May 2024, construction began on the outdoor pavilion area. This portion of the center will serve as an outdoor classroom and will include boardwalks that will allow visitors to come close to the ruins of the original arsenal without damaging them. It will also include sidewalks connecting various parts of the History Center and restrooms. All of these will be ADA compliant.
Future construction also includes a 60,000-square-foot building that will house large-scale exhibits and an auditorium.
Once construction is complete and the center has opened, it will be owned and operated by the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, which also operates the NC Zoo, three aquariums, two art museums, two science museums, as well as many other natural and cultural resources.
The Timeline and the Pricetag
Current estimates by the construction project management firm show that the History Center will be complete by the first quarter of 2027. The estimated cost is $84.6 million. So far, the state of North Carolina has provided $69.6 million; $14.1 million from the City of Fayetteville and Cumberland County; and the remainder has come from private donations. Between $8-$10 million remains to be raised.
Even before all of that is complete, though, the state of North Carolina will benefit from the History Center. Development of virtual educational tools for use in classrooms across the state is already underway, using scholarship from university professors, as well as input from current K-12 teachers. There is also work to include students in the conversations about teaching and learning this part of our history. The goal is that all NC students will be able to learn from the History Center, even if they cannot visit in person.
Stories
The focus of the NC History Center is stories: telling stories from every angle, from every perspective, the stories of what life was like between 1830 and 1900. Story collection is ongoing. If you or someone you know have any North Carolina-related stories from the Antebellum, Civil War, and Reconstruction period, you can share them and they could be included in the Center. Go to nccivilwarcenter.org and click on Story Collection. All stories are vetted by History Center staff. Photos, letters, and any other artifacts you might have are welcome as well. Stories that have already been gathered are available to view and read at the History Center website.
More information about the progress of the History Center, including renderings of the main building, photos and maps of the future site, can be found at nccivilwarcenter.org.

(Photo: A rendering of the possible North Carolina History Center on the Civil War, Emancipation, and Reconstruction on Arsenal Ave. in Fayetteville. Graphic courtesy of NC History Center on the Civil War, Emancipation, and Reconstruction's Facebook page)