History of the Rifle Range: 1980s

The Friends of Fort Caswell Rifle Range received the following letter from a former resident of Caswell Dunes, along with a generous donation.

He agreed to allow us to share his letter here.

Greetings,

I am enclosing a check for two hundred dollars to help towards the repair and
maintenance of the Fort Caswell Rifle Range.

Here is a bit of history since I am one of the earliest residents of Caswell Dunes. The layout of Caswell Dunes was done without adequate exploration of the land because it was like a jungle and quite overgrown and thick with vines. Practically impenetrable. I purchased my condo by walking along the edge of the golf course with the realtor and simply pointing. They did not discover the rifle range until they started bulldozing, and had to inform the authorities, who didn’t know what it was, but said it had to be protected, and the builder had to move some buildings accordingly. My condo overlooked the rifle range and Bunker Rd. was so named because we called it the bunker back then and did not know it was a rifle range until much later when some research was done on the subject.

I lived there from 1985 or 86 (can’t remember which) until around 1990. The bunker then was largely covered by thick jungle-like growth and not very visible. My gray cat lived on its walls and would pass the entire day completely protected, watching traffic drive by. When I arrived home in the evening the cat would run along the wall and greet me like a dog. He thought he was a dog and took walks with us on the golf course at night.

In those days children played on the walls and we planted shrubs and bushes around it. Consequently, it has always had a special place in my heart.

Henry F. Tonn, M.S.
Psychologist
Wilmington, NC

The earliest photo available is this photo from 2011.