Fort Macon State Park Facts for Kids

"Fort Hampton" redirects here. For other uses, see Fort Hampton (disambiguation).

Quick facts for kids Fort Macon State Park
IUCN Category IV (Habitat/Species Management Area)
Fort Macon as viewed from one of the shoreward sides
Fort Macon State Park Location in North Carolina Show map of North Carolina Fort Macon State Park Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Carteret, North Carolina, United States
Area	424 acres (172 ha)
Established	1936
Named for	Fort Macon
Governing body	North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation
Website	Fort Macon State Park

Fort Macon
U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Nearest city	Atlantic Beach, North Carolina
Area	9 acres (3.6 ha)
Built	1826
NRHP reference No.	70000445
Added to NRHP	February 26, 1970

Fort Macon State Park is a cool place to visit in Carteret County, North Carolina. It's located on Bogue Banks near Atlantic Beach. The park first opened its doors in 1936.

Even though it's one of North Carolina's smaller state parks, covering about 424 acres, it's super popular! Over a million people visit Fort Macon State Park every year.

The main attraction is Fort Macon, a historic fort built to protect the coast. It was part of a big plan to defend the United States. A battle was even fought here during the American Civil War in 1862.

Today, you can explore the fully restored fort. The park also offers lots of fun activities. You can go fishing in the sound or the ocean. There are nature trails to explore and ranger-guided tours to learn more. Plus, there's a safe swimming area, a snack stand, and a bathhouse for summer fun. The park is open all year, but some facilities are only available in warmer months.

Fort Macon State Park is also home to a United States Coast Guard station.

Exploring Fort Macon's Past
Gallery
Nearby State Parks
Park Hours
See also

Exploring Fort Macon's Past

Fort Macon is a unique five-sided fort made of strong brick and stone. It has 26 vaulted rooms, called casemates, protected by thick outer walls. These walls are about 4.5 feet thick!

Fort Macon view of a casemate looking into the central courtyard.

It might seem strange to need a fort here now. But long ago, in the 1700s and 1800s, the North Carolina coast was often in danger. Pirates like Blackbeard sailed through Beaufort Inlet. Wars with Spain, France, and Great Britain also meant enemy ships could attack. For example, Beaufort was attacked by the Spanish in 1747 and by the British in 1782.

Early Coastal Defenses

Leaders in North Carolina knew they needed forts to protect their coast. The best spot for a fort was the eastern tip of Bogue Banks. This location guarded the entrance to what is now Beaufort Inlet.

In 1756, they started building Fort Dobbs. It was a small fort, but it was never fully finished. This left the inlet unprotected during the American Revolution.

Building Fort Hampton

After 1807, the U.S. government started a program to build forts along the coast. This was called the Second System of US fortifications. They began building Fort Hampton to protect Beaufort.

Fort Hampton was a small fort made of masonry. It had a horseshoe shape facing the channel. The walls were thick, made from a mix of oyster shells and cement. Behind the walls, there was a platform for five large cannons. These cannons could fire heavy iron shots almost a mile!

The fort also had a two-story barracks for soldiers. It could house about 50 men. There was also a small brick building to store gunpowder.

During the War of 1812, soldiers from Fort Hampton were sent to other battles. Local militia (citizen soldiers) then protected the fort. They even added more cannons. After the war, engineers noticed that the ocean was eroding the land around Fort Hampton. By 1826, the fort was actually in the water!

Constructing Fort Macon

Because Fort Hampton was falling into the sea, a new, stronger fort was needed. This new fort, Fort Macon, was part of the Third System of US fortifications. It was built about 300 yards west of where Fort Hampton once stood.

The purpose of Fort Macon was to guard Beaufort Inlet. This was North Carolina's only major deepwater port. The fort was named after Nathaniel Macon, a U.S. Senator who helped get money for its construction.

A tourist reads an informative plaque inside the Fort structure.

Construction began in 1826 and took eight years. The fort was finished in 1834. It cost a lot of money, about $463,790. A famous engineer, Robert E. Lee, even helped design ways to stop erosion here in the 1840s. He later became a general in the Confederate Army.

Fort Macon During the Civil War

When the American Civil War started in April 1861, local North Carolina militia quickly took over Fort Macon for the Confederacy. They spent a year getting the fort ready for battle. They armed it with 54 heavy cannons.

In early 1862, Union forces moved through eastern North Carolina. A group led by General John G. Parke was sent to capture Fort Macon. They took nearby towns easily. Then, they landed on Bogue Banks to attack the fort.

Colonel Moses J. White and his 400 Confederate soldiers inside the fort refused to give up. On April 25, 1862, Union forces bombarded the fort for 11 hours. They used powerful cannons on land and gunboats in the ocean.

Recreated ration storage room from the Civil War era.

The fort was strong against the gunboats. But the Union land batteries used new, powerful rifled cannons. These cannons hit the fort 560 times, causing a lot of damage. Colonel White had to surrender the next morning, April 26. The Confederate soldiers became prisoners of war.

This battle showed how new rifled cannons could damage old-style forts. Fort Macon stayed in Union hands for the rest of the war. Beaufort Harbor became an important place for Union navy ships to get coal and repairs.

After the Civil War

After the Civil War, the U.S. Army used Fort Macon until 1877. For about 11 years, it was even used as a prison. There were no other prisons in the area at the time.

The fort was not actively used after 1877. But it was briefly manned again by state troops in 1898 during the Spanish–American War. Finally, in 1903, the U.S. Army left the fort for good.

Road leading into Fort Macon.

In 1923, Fort Macon was going to be sold. But North Carolina leaders wanted to save it. In 1924, a special law allowed the state to buy the fort and the land for just $1! The plan was to turn it into a public park. This was one of the first places North Carolina got for its state parks system.

From 1934 to 1935, a group called the Civilian Conservation Corps helped restore the fort. They also built facilities for visitors. Fort Macon State Park officially opened on May 1, 1936. It was North Carolina's first working state park!

During World War II, the U.S. Army leased the park again. Soldiers were stationed at the old fort from 1941 to 1944. They protected important facilities nearby. After the war, in 1946, the Army returned the fort and park to the state.