The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has awarded the state a $2.5 million grant for shoreline restoration and coastal resiliency at Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site in Winnabow.
The site along the Cape Fear River “has experienced significant shoreline erosion due to severe weather and daily tidal forces from increased vessel traffic on the river. The rapidly diminishing shoreline has resulted in the loss of habitat and worsening flooding conditions in the area,” the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources said this week in a release.
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Brunswick was once a major prerevolutionary port on North Carolina’s Cape Fear River but was razed by British troops in 1776 and was never rebuilt. During the Civil War, Fort Anderson was constructed atop the old village site, and served as part of the Cape Fear River defenses below Wilmington before the fall of the Confederacy.
The federal funds will enable the state to continue with a project to build and install a system of wave attenuators to protect the shoreline from erosion. The nature-based approach has proven to reduce wave action, mitigate shoreline erosion, protect wildlife, facilitate the growth of natural habitat, and safeguard historical resources still buried at the site, according to the state.
“It is important to protect both our state’s rich history and its cultural resources. I am proud to have worked with the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources to secure this federal funding, protecting the Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson site for generations to come,” Rep. David Rouzer, R-N.C., said in a statement. “By investing in these shoreline restoration and resiliency efforts, we’re not only preserving important history, but also better protecting this historic shoreline and the surrounding community from future natural disasters.”
Rouzer represents North Carolina’s 7th congressional district, which includes Wilmington and much of the southeastern part of the state.
The shoreline restoration project is a collaborative effort between the state’s Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, University of North Carolina Wilmington, and the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management.
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“In the last 81 years, Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson has lost over 12 acres of shoreline from accelerating erosion, endangering an untold number of historical and cultural resources,” said North Carolina Historic Sites Director Michelle Lanier. “The good news is, since 2017, Brunswick Town’s living shoreline has become a national model for coastal resiliency. We are thrilled that this critical project will continue thanks to the support of our partners at NOAA.”
