With pomp and circumstance—including the roar of cannon and volleys of musket fire—Virginia’s newest historic park was dedicated on Saturday in Mathews County.

Fort Nonsense Historical Park, located at the intersection of Routes 14 and 3 near the Gloucester County border, represents the latest example of the leadership role Mathews County has taken on the Middle Peninsula in historic preservation, according to historian and author J. Michael Moore, keynote speaker for the morning’s opening ceremony.

“Hear, Hear … Huzzah,” Moore said as he welcomed visitors to the 2.94-acre site, which contains one of the area’s best-preserved Civil War-era earthen fortifications. Fort Nonsense, he said, stands as “a visible reminder of America’s bloodiest war.”

Moore pointed with pride to the efforts that Mathews has made to preserve its local history, from Tompkins Cottage and the historic courthouse building to this newest site, a ...