This Land, Your Land

Fort Macon State Park this week welcomed the first working cannon in the Civil War fort's exhibits. The “32-pounder” is to be fired in its first public demonstration January 29, according to the Sun Journal of New Bern.

The 20-foot-long, 4,200-pound replica weapon resulted from a partnership between State Parks and Wayne Community College originally joined to manufacture aluminum cannon carriages to replace wooden ones too quickly destroyed by the elements. The state saved about $20,000 by working with the college, and leftover funds were put toward a gun barrel. The barrel was manufactured at New Windsor, Md.

Fort Macon, the centerpiece of the 424-acre state park near Atlantic Beach, has two non-working cannons and pair of non-working mortars.

Down the coast, Fort Fisher has working cannons that are fired in scheduled demonstrations.

Fort Macon is now training staff to fire the cannon, called a "32-pounder" for the size of the shell it fires.