An incoming museum 15 years in the making is about to start construction in Arsenal Park in Fayetteville. Leadership with the NC Center on the Civil War, Emancipation & Reconstruction met with the community during a press conference on Friday, July 25, to announce the start of final construction of the Center.

The final phase of a three phase plan by organizers includes a 60,000 square-foot museum quality facility that will include classrooms, an auditorium, galleries and state of the art interactive exhibits and more. 

Along with the new facility, Arsenal Park is also home to a History Village featuring three Civil War Era homes that have been restored and renovated for adaptive use and an incoming outdoor pavilion which were Phases I and II of the project respectively. The outdoor pavilion is also expected to begin construction soon and include a classroom, picnic area, performance areas and restrooms. 

The total project budget is expected to be a little over $84 million. So far, according to the organization, a majority of the money needed had been raised, with the museum receiving $69.6 million from the State of North Carolina, $14.1 million from the City of Fayetteville and Cumberland County and the rest from private donations. 

“I can't tell you the number of people that have worked on this process, from city, county to state to just plain volunteers, and it's been an absolute joy that everybody's come together,” shared Chairman of the Board of Directors John “Mac” Healy. “I talked about partnerships from the very beginning, we were all clear that this is a partnership, a public-private partnership, between the citizens of Cumberland County, the city, the county [and] the state of North Carolina. 

The Cumberland Community Foundation was the lead foundation that stepped up and really gave us a spark at the very beginning, back when people, again, didn't know what we're all about. So, I have to thank them for stepping up.” 

The NC History Center has brought in Raleigh-based Vines Architecture to be the head designers for the project. According to Adam Brakenbury, managing principal with Vines Architecture, ground work is expected to begin immediately and residents can expect to see the framework of the building to go up by spring of 2026 and be finished by 2028.  

“The NC History Center on the Civil War, Emancipation and Reconstruction is envisioned not only as a destination for visitors to the area, but also as a community center for local Fayetteville residents. In addition to 16,000 square-feet of exhibition space, the facility contains classrooms, a library, a 2,000 square-foot community meeting room that can host lectures, a lobby with space to host banquets and other events, as well as a cafe, gift shop and rotating exhibit gallery,” shared Brackenbury. 

While construction begins on the physical building, historians with the NC History Center will continue to educate and work with over 30 historians on their goal to gather 10,000 Civil War Era stories from locals across the state. 

“From now on, we'll continue with oversight of the project. We continue to hold seminars for social studies teachers across the state of North Carolina,” said Healy. “Our goal is to collect 100 stories from all 100 counties of this period.” 

Learn more about the NC Center on the Civil War, Emancipation & Reconstruction and their history preservation project on their website: www.nccivilwarcenter.org/