Fayetteville, North Carolina: U.S. Arsenal Ghost Tower

Take the walkway over the freeway and follow the path to the E. A. Poe home built in 1897 for a tour. Lovely!

The "ghost" tower is representative of one of the original towers that were on the site of the U.S. Arsenal that General Sherman destroyed in early 1865. The MLK freeway that cuts through the site separates the Museum of the Cape Fear from the original arsenal site via a narrow footbridge. The entire site is state owned and relic hunting on the site is a felony offense.

The Ghost tower is a huge metal structure that is lit up at night and can been seen from the Martin Luther King Highway exit, downtown Fayetteville and Hay Street. It is attached to the Fayetteville Museum and Civil War park they are trying to build. The Ghost tower stands on one of the corners that is the lookout point where an original wood (I think) structure stood to watch for enemies during the civil war. There were originally four structures, but they have only recreated one.

The park is also surrounded by the Poe House which was Edgar Poe's house, restored with original look and some of the houses he built for his daughters. Two have been torn down and one remains. I lived in the remaining one for three years, and had a lot of strange occurrences, and would go as far as to say it is haunted. The neighborhood is historic Haymount. Most have been renovated; the neighborhood is beautiful even if you just want to ride around and look at old southern houses. There is also a historic train station downtown and an old Griffin fountain. Also attached is the old civil war nurses quarters which have been turned into apartments as well. Further down Haystreet, the market house where they used to buy and sell slaves and produce still stands. Occasionally they have Civil War reenactments and cannon fire. There is a wrought iron walkway that leads from one side of the park to the other and the museum. This runs over the highway and is pretty spooky at night. A lot of bats in the area. Also there is a historic graveyard with huge angels and crypts a couple of miles down the road through the neighborhoods off Grove Street.