The CSS Neuse, a Confederate ironclad built on the Neuse River upstream from New Bern, entered a long struggle for preservation as its wooden remains faced deterioration from rain, humidity, flooding, and time. Three local businessmen recovered the vessel in 1961-1963, and in November 1963 Governor Terry Sanford approved ten thousand dollars to move the ship and apply wood preservatives. In 1964 the CSS Neuse was removed from its recovery site and relocated to Governor Caswell Memorial Park, which became part of the Historic Sites Section on July 1, 1965. The state built an open-sided shelter over the gunboat in 1969, began preservation of the hull in 1970, and constructed a visitor center in 1972, but windblown precipitation and humidity remained problems. Planning for an environmentally controlled enclosure began in 1993, and in November 1995 a Conservation Assessment Program team recommended a more controlled environment. After East Group completed a site plan and schematic design for a new visitor center in March 1996, Hurricane Fran struck eastern North Carolina in September 1996, and flooding damaged the hull and prompted the state to abandon plans to enclose the vessel in its existing shelter. In February 1997 repair funding was redirected to remove the gunboat from the floodplain, and in April 1998 site work began to move it to higher ground. The goal was to place the vessel in a climate-controlled facility that would regulate humidity and temperature, improve preservation, and provide expanded exhibit space on the battles of Kinston and other Civil War events in eastern North Carolina, including Goldsboro, Seven Springs, and New Bern.