Wilmington National Cemetery suffered minimal damage during Hurricane Florence

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) – Despite widespread damage across the Cape Fear from Hurricane Florence, one area survived nearly unscathed.

Wilmington National Cemetery, located at 2011 Market Street, only had only two headstones damaged during the September storm.

This is surprising considering so many stately trees along Market Street came down impeding traffic for several days thereafter.

According to Steven Fezler, spokesman for Wilmington National Cemetery, the two headstones have been reordered from a contractor and will be replaced soon.

Ironically, a number of older trees throughout the cemetery were brought down by the heavy wind and rain including two large magnolias that were approximately 160 years old, a Hickory tree that was about 150 years old, and a number of younger trees.

“The way the trees and the branches fell missed hitting the headstones,” Fezler said.

Considering the magnitude of Florence, Fezler added, “The amount of headstone damage was negligible.”

The cemetery reopened to the public two days after the hurricane.