Fort Macon has five live-fire 32-pound coastal cannons with chassis and carriages designed and created by WCC students and faculty.
When Fort Macon State Park in Carteret County celebrates the centennial of the establishment of the North Carolina parks system this weekend, Wayne Community College will be honored, too.
During the anniversary observance kickoff this Friday, April 22, park officials will present the college with a commendation and a contribution toward several scholarships. The recognition is in appreciation for the five barbette carriages that WCC Applied Technologies faculty and students created for the live-fire, 32-pound coastal cannons that now adorn the eastern parapets of the fort.
The college’s Engineering, Machining, and Welding programs worked in partnership with the park’s personnel to recreate the cannons’ chassis and carriages using early 1800s design drawings. Over the course of the six-year project, the original wooden carriage and chassis design was replaced with 1/4-inch aircraft grade aluminum square tubing on five cannons. The aluminum offsets the harmful effects that the salt air and water environment has on wood and the design allows for more strength, extended life and requires less maintenance.
In addition to the work of the WCC faculty and students, the cannon project came to fruition through the collaborative efforts of the NC Division of Parks and Recreation and the Friends of Fort Macon organization.
The presentation is to recognize “all the hard work,” said Paul Branch, a Fort Macon ranger and historian, and because “this is such a wonderful example of partnering with the state and community for educational purposes and the enjoyment of our park visitors.”
The ceremony in which the college will be honored start at 6:30 p.m. on April 22. The event will begin with the dedication and firing of the newly installed cannons, followed by a performance by the 2d Marine Division Concert Band at 7:15 p.m., and conclude with fireworks at 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 23 and Sunday, April 24 will feature the Fort Macon Battle Observation with a night artillery demonstration on Saturday.
The full schedule of the weekend’s events can be found at www.ncparks.gov/fort-macon-state-park.
North Carolina plans to celebrate the state parks system’s centennial throughout 2016 with a series of special events and a public-private partnership campaign with the Friends of State Parks, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting North Carolina’s state parks.
The N.C. General Assembly authorized the purchase of land for a state park at Mount Mitchell on March 3, 1915, and 795 acres on the summit were acquired by the end of 1916, which firmly established the first state park in the southeastern United States. Today, the parks system encompasses more than 225,000 acres and attracts more than 15 million visitors each year. State parks protect North Carolina’s natural heritage, educate citizens about how to be responsible environmental stewards and offer a myriad of recreational opportunities for enjoyment and health benefits. They also contribute significantly to the state’s tourism economy.
Wayne Community College is a public, learning-centered institution with an open-door admission policy located in Goldsboro, N.C. As it works to develop a highly skilled and competitive workforce, it serves 14,000 individuals annually as well as businesses, industry, and community organizations with high quality, affordable, accessible learning opportunities, including more than 72 college credit programs.
Wayne Community College’s mission is to meet the educational, training, and cultural needs of the communities it serves.