2 history projects are planned in Cumberland County. Here's what to know about them

Two museum projects are being planned for Fayetteville and Cumberland County, with coordinators and local leaders emphasizing that both will not “whitewash,” or omit history.

The NC History Center on the Civil War, Emancipation & Reconstruction aims to focus on the Civil War and the period that followed through the lens of North Carolinians from all backgrounds across the state.

The Black Voice and History Museum will tell the stories of Fayetteville and Cumberland’s Black residents, pre-civil War to the present day.

Here’s a look at what we know about the two projects.

Where each museum will be located

The NC History Center on the Civil War, Emancipation & Reconstruction will replace the Museum of the Cape Fear and be at the site of the United States Arsenal, a historic Civil War site.

The main 60,000-square-foot building will be off Hay Street near the overpass for the Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway.

The exact site for the Black Voice and History Museum hasn’t been finalized, but the Fleishman family, who own local Fayetteville businesses, have offered to provide land they own, where the Fayetteville Commons parking lot is at 122 Person St.

Early plans suggest the land would be known as Chesnutt Plaza, named after Fayetteville Black author Charles Chesnutt, and connect to the museum to Fayetteville Market house, historical markers and educational facilities.

What government entities have contributed to each project

The state of North Carolina has provided $59.6 million for the history center, while Fayetteville and Cumberland County have provided $14.1 million.

Commissioners and the Fayetteville City Council approved splitting the $900,000 cost for the first phase of the Black Voice and History Museum project in 2022, with each entity agreeing to appropriate $450,000.  

Costs

Fundraising for the NC History Center on the Civil War, Emancipation & Reconstruction has been ongoing for 12 years, Mac Healy, chair of the History Center Board, said earlier this month.

As of Jan. 19, there was still about $7.5 million to raise, Healy said.

Initial estimates for the museum were $65 million, which rose to $104 million when factoring in inflation, and officials have worked to bring the inflation cost down to $80-85 million, he said.

The final price tag, Healy said, will be determined once contracts are awarded.

Any excess of funds raised will go toward a Cumberland County Community Foundation endowment for maintenance, work and mobile exhibits, he said.

The cost of the Black Voice and History Museum will be estimated after a  community engagement process, said William Cassell, the project coordinator.

What phase of planning is each museum in?

Ground for the history center broke in June 2021, and the project is in the design development phase, Healy said.

“We have the basic shell of the building, and an architect hired to begin the process,” he said. “Meanwhile, we have historians and an exhibit team diligently working to identify what will go in there.”

The first phase, known as “VanStory History Village,” where three Civil War and Reconstruction era homes were restored. Construction on the village, which will be used for K-12 education and research for colleges and universities, is wrapping up, Healy said.

By spring of this year, he said, a pavilion learning center that will serve school students will start construction and is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

The third phase for the museum’s main building should start by the end of the year, too.

The plan, Healy said, is to have a grand opening for the entire museum in 2027.

The next steps for the Black Voice and History Museum include a study, community engagement and preliminary design, county documents state.

Latest on Cumberland County/Fayetteville Black Voice and History Museum

What still needs to be done

While design and construction is ongoing for the Civil War museum, planners are also working with history professors within the University of North Carolina system to determine which materials can go into curriculums for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Work is underway to gather submitted stories derived from oral histories of traditions, genealogical research and primary sources like letters and diaries about anyone who was in North Carolina between 1830 and 1900, said Cheri Todd Molter, research historian at the Center.

Plans for the Black Voices Museum state that after gathering input from the community, a design phase will start followed by construction and operations.

Plans for the Black Voices Museum call for a two-year process to design the museum and Chesnutt Plaza, which will include community engagement starting this year and continuing through 2025.

The design phase will include development and budget plans for the remaining phases. The construction phase will include “reconceptualization of the Market House,” and building the museum with features that link it to Fayetteville corridor projects. Similar to the history center, officials with the Black Voices Museum have said they expect to partner with academic scholars and experts in history and curation for the exhibits.

Another goal is for the museum to have yearlong programming for children and the community that incorporates authors, theater, music and spoken word along with exhibits.

Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Cumberland County projects to tell Civil War, Black history and more