Fort Macon became a state park in 1924. At that time, the fort was all that remained of the military post. All other traces of the Army presence from the 19th century were gone.
The fort itself, and a US Lifesaving Service (later Coast Guard) Station built in 1904, were all that occupied the eastern end of Bogue Banks. The area surrounding the fort was far different then from how it appears today. Then, it was all open savanna bordered by marshland and low sand dunes.
Although the park saw development and increasing visitation in the 1930s, it still retained this pastoral character for many years.
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The Pine Tree Experiment
When Fort Macon State Park was first established in 1924, it was placed under the administration of the North Carolina Division of Forestry, since no Division of State Parks then existed. Between 1927 and 1930, the Forestry Division utilized the land around Fort Macon to plant thousands of seedlings of different types of pine trees. The reforestation experiment was to determine which types of pine grew best along the coast. The growth of the young trees was studied and monitored during periodic visits by Forestry Division officials until August 3, 1932. At that time, careless park visitors started a wild fire that swept through the area around the fort and destroyed all the trees.
(clockwise) Forestry workers planting pine trees around Fort Macon in 1929.; The aftermath of the 1932 wild fire around Fort Macon; A forestry Division worker in 1931 assessing the growth of young pine trees planted several years earlier on the slope of Fort Macon. The US Coast Guard Station is in the background.
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(upper left) A 1933 aerial photograph shows marshes, sand dunes and open grounds surrounding Fort Macon and the adjacent U.S. Coast Guard Station.
(lower left) Looking eastward from the Coast Guard Station toward Fort Macon—sheep are grazing on the slope of the fort.
(upper right) Open grounds look eastward from Fort Macon in the late 1920s. The present-day parking lot was built here.
(lower right) Looking northward from Fort Macon across marshland and open savanna in the late 1930s. The house in the distance was the Nicoll Cottage, which was used during 1936-1941 as the park vacation cabin. Park visitors could rent the furnished cabin for $20 a week.
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