Approximately 250 alumni, teachers, administrators, parents and family participated in dedicating a memorial garden at Carl Sandburg Middle School on July 25 to memorialize the old Fort Hunt High School and those alumni who died. Fort Hunt High School was closed in 1985. The next day, following the memorial garden dedication, about 500 alumni and family gathered at the nearby Fort Hunt Park to enjoy a BBQ, band concerts, taking class photos and talking about the good old days.

According to life-long Fort Hunt resident and Fort Hunt High School Alum Tom Harvey, “Fort Hunt High School was the quintessential community high school that served as the central educational and social core of the Fort Hunt community for 22 years. For many of us, the memory of those days still serves as a never-ending gift, a reminder of good times, dreams, and growing up in a tight knit community that took great pride in our school’s academic and extracurricular achievements.”

Joe Gililland, president of the Fort Hunt High School Alumni Association, said, “The Memorial Garden Dedication was a salute to the students, teachers, coaches, administrators, and parents of Fort Hunt High School. We loved doing it. Without the old school, we felt like we lost a community center. The new Fort Hunt High School Memorial Garden and return of the historic cannons to the courtyard are a big step towards ‘making things right’ for the school’s alumni, parents, teachers, coaches and administrators. Fort Hunt lives!”

The two cannons in the memorial garden were acquired in 1965. The Fort Hunt High School PTA president obtained the historic 1854 1,400 lb. bronze cannon barrels and had them placed on concrete pedestals in the school's courtyard to serve as symbols of strength and determination. The cannons remained in place in the courtyard for the next 22 years. When the school closed and the newly named Carl Sandburg Middle School was renovated, the cannons were moved for safekeeping. These icons of the school and community were returned because of the efforts of the 2,500 school alumni who urged that these historic sentinels be returned to their rightful place in the courtyard and now serve as part of the Fort Hunt High School Alumni Memorial Garden.