county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
in the southern part of the U.S. state of
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
and is its largest county by land area. Its
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
is and largest city is Lumberton. The county was formed in 1787 from part of
Bladen County
Bladen County () , from the North Carolina Collection's website at the
...
and named in honor of Thomas Robeson, a colonel who had led
Patriot
A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism.
Patriot may also refer to:
Political and military groups United States
* Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution
* Patriot m ...
forces in the area during the Revolutionary War. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 116,530. It is a
majority-minority
A majority-minority or minority-majority area is a term used to refer to a administrative division, subdivision in which one or more minority group, racial, ethnic, and/or religious minorities (relative to the whole country's population) make up a ...
county; its residents are approximately 38 percent Native American, 22 percent white, 22 percent black, and 10 percent Hispanic. It is included in the Fayetteville–Lumberton–
Laurinburg
Laurinburg is a city in and the county seat of Scotland County, North Carolina, United States. Located in southern North Carolina near the South Carolina border, Laurinburg is southwest of Fayetteville and is home to St. Andrews University. ...
, NC
Combined Statistical Area
Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...
. The state-recognized
Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina
The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is a state-recognized tribe in North Carolina. The tribe represents Lumbee people. They are not federally recognized as a Native American tribe.
With an estimated 55,000 members, the Lumbee Tribe of North Caroli ...
is headquartered in Pembroke.
The area eventually comprising Robeson was originally inhabited by Native Americans, though little is known about them. By the mid-1700s, a Native community had coalesced around the swamps near
Lumber River
The Lumber River, sometimes referred to as the Lumbee River, is a river in south-central North Carolina in the flat Coastal Plain. European settlers first called the river Drowning Creek, which is the name of its headwater. The waterway known as ...
, which bisects the area. Later in the century the other lands were occupied by Scottish, English, and French settlers. The population remained sparse for decades due to the lack of suitable land for farming, and timber and
naval stores
Naval stores are all liquid products derived from conifers. These materials include rosin, tall oil, pine oil, and terpentine. The term ''naval stores'' originally applied to the organic compounds used in building and maintaining wooden sailing ...
formed a key part of the early economy. The proliferation of the
cotton gin
A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); a ...
and rising demand for cotton led Robeson County to become one of the state's major cotton-producing county's throughout much of the 1800s. The
Lowry War
The Lowry War or Lowrie War was a conflict that took place in and around Robeson County, North Carolina, Robeson County, North Carolina, United States from 1864 to 1874 between a group of mostly Native American outlaws and civil local, state, and ...
was fought between a group of mostly-Native American outlaws and local authorities during the latter stages of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
and through the
Reconstruction era
The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...
. After Reconstruction ended, a unique system of tripartite racial segregation was instituted in the county to separate whites, blacks, and Native Americans.
In the early 20th century, Robeson developed significant tobacco and textile industries, while many of its swamp lands were drained and roads were paved. From the 1950s to the 1970s, the county experienced tensions over racial desegregation. During the same time period, local agriculture mechanized and the manufacturing industry grew. The new industry was unable to provide stable enough employment to locals and by the 1980s Robeson was heavily afflicted by
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
trafficking. The narcotics trade fueled violence, social unrest, political tensions, police corruption, and caused the county's statewide reputation to suffer. The county's economy was further damaged by major declines in the tobacco and textile industries in the 1990s and early 2000s which have now been supplanted by the supply of fossil fuels, poultry farming, biogas and bio-mass facilities, and logging. Robeson continues to rank low on several statewide socioeconomic indicators.
History
Early history and colonial era
Indigenous people
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
have lived in the region as early as 20,000 B.C.E, though little is known about those who lived there in the pre-colonial and early colonial eras. Archeological excavations in the area eventually encompassing Robeson County have uncovered
glass bead
Glass bead making has long traditions, with the oldest known beads dating over 3,000 years. Glass beads have been dated back to at least Roman times. Perhaps the earliest glass-like beads were Egyptian faience beads, a form of clay bead with a ...
s—often used by Native Americans in trade, pottery, and clay pipes. Archeologist Stanley Knick concluded that the land that had been inhabited continuously from 12,000 B.C.E. in the early Paleo-Indian period through the Archaic and
Woodland period
In the classification of :category:Archaeological cultures of North America, archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 Common Era, BCE to European con ...
s and up to the present. The earliest written mention of Native Americans in the area is a 1725 map compiled by John Herbert, which identified four
Siouan
Siouan or Siouan–Catawban is a language family of North America that is located primarily in the Great Plains, Ohio and Mississippi valleys and southeastern North America with a few other languages in the east.
Name
Authors who call the entire ...
-speaking communities near Drowning Creek—later known as the
Lumber River
The Lumber River, sometimes referred to as the Lumbee River, is a river in south-central North Carolina in the flat Coastal Plain. European settlers first called the river Drowning Creek, which is the name of its headwater. The waterway known as ...
.
The Native American/American Indian-descent people in the Lumber River valley eventually coalesced into a series of farming communities collectively dubbed " Scuffletown" by whites but known by its own inhabitants as "the Settlement". The date of Scuffletown's formation is unknown as was its actual location. Some scholars believe it was in the vicinity of the later town of Pembroke while others place it at Moss Neck. Historians
Adolph Dial
Adolph Lorenz Dial was an American historian, professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, and a specialist in the field of American Indian Studies. Dial was a member of the Lumbee Tribe and a graduate of Pembroke Stat ...
and David K. Eliades believed that it was a mobile community. Others still believe the name applied broadly to any concentration of Indians in the area. Culturally, the Scuffletonians were similar to other Europeans in their dress and style of homes. They were Protestant Christians and spoke English, though they spoke an "older form" which set them apart from later settlers. Not viewed as Native Americans by the state of North Carolina until the 1880s, these people were generally dubbed "
mulatto
(, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese is ...
s" by locals and in federal documents throughout the mid-1800s to distinguish them from blacks. The original Scuffletonians were joined by some whites and blacks in the mid-1700s, including some escaped slaves. The earliest written record of white settlement dates from 1747 land deed applications.
The area eventually comprising Robeson County was not heavily settled by whites until about 10 years before the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
, when
Highland Scots
The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...
moved into the area. They formed a separate community from the Scuffletonians. The immigrants encompassed a range of class distinctions, from literate and aristocratic English-speaking families to poorer
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...
-speakers, many of whom were indentured servants. The latter were called "Buckskins" due to their reputation for wearing pants made of deer leather. Gaelic remained spoken in the area as late as the 1860s. English and a few French settlers moved into the eastern portion of the eventual county. Despite the increase in settlement, population levels in the Lumber River valley remained low for many years, as swamps and thick vegetation divided
arable land
Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the ...
and made transportation difficult. The production of timber and
naval stores
Naval stores are all liquid products derived from conifers. These materials include rosin, tall oil, pine oil, and terpentine. The term ''naval stores'' originally applied to the organic compounds used in building and maintaining wooden sailing ...
formed a key part of the area's early economy, with logs being floated down the river for sale in
Georgetown, South Carolina
Georgetown is the third oldest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina and the county seat of Georgetown County, South Carolina, Georgetown County, in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census ...
in the late 1700s. During the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, control over the Lumber River valley was heavily contested by
British Loyalists
Loyalists were colonists in the Thirteen Colonies who remained loyal to the The Crown, British Crown during the American Revolutionary War, often referred to as Tories, Royalists or King's Men at the time. They were opposed by the Patriot (Ame ...
and Patriots. Tensions raised by the war caused some whites to migrate out of the area, moving as far away as
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
Creation
Robeson County was created by the
North Carolina General Assembly
The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, State government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...
in 1787 out of a western section of
Bladen County
Bladen County () , from the North Carolina Collection's website at the
...
. It was named for Thomas Robeson, a colonel who had led Patriot forces in the area during the Revolutionary War. General John Willis, owner of the Red Banks plantation, lobbied to have the county's new seat of government located on his land. The site, to be known as Lumberton, was chosen due to its central location in the county, proximity to a reliable
ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
of the Lumber River, and as it was where several roads intersected. The first county courthouse was a wooden residence sold by Willis and moved into place after land was cleared. Lumberton served as county residents' primary area of commerce for much of the area's early history, as transportation links with major regional cities elsewhere were tenuous. The 1790 United States census recorded 5,356 county residents. The county's first
U.S. Post Office
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the Federal government of the Uni ...
was established there by 1796. That year settlers moved up the Lumber River and established Robeson's second community, Princess Anne. Much of the county's geography was not officially understood by surveyors until the early 1800s. The county's boundaries were modified and remarked several times between 1788 and 1832.
Antebellum
Initially, wheat, corn, rice, sugar cane, and potatoes were popular crops among Robesonian farmers. The proliferation of the
cotton gin
A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); a ...
and rising demand for cotton led it to be rapidly adopted, and Robeson County became one of the state's major cotton-producing county's throughout much of the 1800s. Wealthy white planters held the best land in the county, and often outcompeted
smallholding
A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...
Indian and white farmers due to the aid of slave labor, creating stark class divisions. Cotton demand facilitated the growth of slavery and the expansion of plantations. By 1850, the county had a population of 7,290 whites, 4,365 slaves, and 1,171
free persons of color
In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (French: ''gens de couleur libres''; Spanish: ''gente de color libre'') were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not ...
Constitution of North Carolina
The Constitution of the State of North Carolina governs the structure and function of the state government of North Carolina, one of the United States; it is the highest legal document for the state and subjugates North Carolina law. All U.S. st ...
was ratified, which restricted the ability of "free persons of color" and "free persons of mixed blood" to vote and bear arms. While having previously enjoyed the same political rights as white people, the Indians were disenfranchised by the new constitution. White farmers in Robeson County also sought ways to obtain Indians' land or labor. According to Indian oral tradition, the "tied mule" incidents were emblematic of this. In these scenarios, a farmer would tie his mule on an Indian's land and release some of his cattle there, before bringing local authorities to the scene to accuse the Indian landowner of theft. Doubtful of a fair trial in the courts, an Indian would settle with the farmer by either offering him a portion of land or free labor. By the 1860s, many Indians were landless. The legal discrimination and exploitative practices heightened racial tensions in the area.
In 1848 a new county courthouse was constructed to replace the original building. Lumberton was formally incorporated four years later. In 1860, the
Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad
The Carolina Central Railroad, was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1855 as the Wilmington and Charlotte Railroad and was renamed the Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad shortly after. It was reorganized as ...
was laid through the county as its first railway. By April 1861, the line reached the town of Shoe Heel—later known as Maxton. The introduction of the railroad facilitated the creation of new towns in the county.
Civil War
North Carolina seceded from the United States in 1861 and joined the
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
to fight in the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. Many Indians and Buckskin whites were unenthusiastic about the war; most local supporters of the Confederate cause were wealthy or well-educated. Some Indian men enlisted in the
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
, though it unknown whether they were accepted as recognized Indians or passed as white. Major white slaveholders were exempted from service, as were those wealthy enough to pay for surrogates to serve in their place. In 1863, Confederate authorities began conscripting the Indians and other free persons of color for labor along the coast, especially at
Fort Fisher
Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865. The fort was located on one of Cape Fear River' ...
. The Indians were usually tasked to either construct batteries or grind salt. Most found the work dangerous and monotonous, and the conditions at the labor camps poor. Many consequently fled into the swamps of Robeson County to avoid conscription. Though some Indians still sought to serve in the army during this time, by late 1863 most had concluded that the Confederacy was an oppressive regime. This change in attitudes was brought on by their contact with Union
prisoner-of-war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
escapees from the
Florence Stockade
The Florence Stockade, also known as The Stockade or the Confederate States Military Prison at Florence, was a Confederate States of America, Confederate prisoner-of-war camp located on the outskirts of Florence, South Carolina, during the Ameri ...
, away in South Carolina. Indians became increasingly willing to help the Union soldiers escape and avoid recapture.
As time progressed some of the swamp deserters—including Indians, blacks, and Union soldiers—formed bands to raid and steal from area farms, though this was mostly out of a desire to survive and had little to do with challenging the Confederacy. The Indians' aid to the Union escapees and their attempts to dodge labor conscription drew the attention of the
Confederate Home Guard
The Home Guard of the several states of the Confederacy during the American Civil War included all able-bodied white males between the ages of 18 and 50 who were exempt from Confederate service, excepting only the governor and other officials. ...
, a paramilitary force tasked with maintaining law and order in the South during the war. In early March 1965, Union troops led by General
William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...
entered North Carolina. The Union escapees left to join them, and the bands became predominantly Indian. Union forces entered Lumberton on March 9, burning two bridges and a depot. They also foraged off of the goods of locals, seizing draft animals, cattle, and crops. The bulk of Confederate forces surrendered at Appomattox, Virginia shortly thereafter. On May 15, slaves in Robeson were declared emancipated.
Reconstruction and Lowry War
In 1864, during the latter stages of the Civil War, Confederate postmaster James P. Barnes accused some sons of Allen Lowry, a prominent Indian farmer, of stealing two of his hogs and butchering them to feed Union escapees. He ordered the Lowry family to stay off his land under threat of being shot. In December, Barnes was ambushed and shot as he made his way to work. Shortly before he succumbed to his wounds he accused William and
Henry Berry Lowry
Henry Berry Lowry ( – unknown after 1872) was an American outlaw. A Lumbee Native American, he led the Lowry Gang in North Carolina during and after the American Civil War. Many local North Carolinians remember him as a Robin Hood figure. Lowry ...
, two sons of Allen, of committing the attack. The following January, Confederate Home Guard officer James Brantly Harris was ambushed and shot following his involvement in the deaths of three Lowrys. Fearing Harris' death would lead to retaliation from the Home Guard, local Indians began preparing for violence. Short on food and weapons, they began stealing from white-owned farms and plantations. Supplies intended for the guard was stolen from the courthouse in Lumberton.
White citizens were infuriated by the decline in law and order, and the Home Guard suspected that the Lowry family was largely responsible. On March 3, 1865, a Home Guard detachment arrested Allen Lowry and several others. Following an impromptu tribunal, the guardsmen executed Allen and his son William for allegedly possessing stolen goods. The Home Guard was briefly disrupted by the incursion of Sherman's troops several days later, but thereafter resumed investigating the Lowry family. These events initiated the Lowry War, a conflict which dominated Robeson County throughout the Reconstruction period.
The situation in Robeson County briefly calmed with the Union victory, as locals focused on rebuilding their livelihoods. The region suffered an economic downturn brought on by an agricultural depression and the destruction of the turpentine industry by Union troops. Some white Robesonians moved down the Lumber River into South Carolina in search of new farmland, while others moved west. Many black freedmen turned to
tenant farming
A tenant farmer is a person (farmer or farmworker) who resides on land owned by a landlord. Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management, ...
. Local government in Robeson mostly continued as it had during the war, with rich white men of prominence dominating public offices, especially the
justices of the peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
who constituted the county court. The Home Guard was formally dissolved but was replaced by a similar institution, the Police Guard.
In December the Police Guard arrested Henry Berry Lowry at his wedding and held him on charges of murdering Barnes. He shortly thereafter escaped custody and avoided the authorities by hiding in swamps with a group of associates which became known as the Lowry Gang. Although a somewhat fluid band at times numbering 20–30 men, the gang usually operated with six to eight men. The principle members were mostly relatives of Lowry, though the gang also included two blacks and a poor white. They usually stayed in improvised shelters in Back Swamp, a ten-mile long stretch of sparsely-traveled land near Allen Lowry's homestead. Throughout 1866 and 1867 the gang conducted raids "in retaliation" for previous wrongs inflicted upon them, but no people were killed.
Following the passage of federal
Reconstruction Acts
The Reconstruction Acts, or the Military Reconstruction Acts, (March 2, 1867, 14 Stat. 428-430, c.153; March 23, 1867, 15 Stat. 2-5, c.6; July 19, 1867, 15 Stat. 14-16, c.30; and March 11, 1868, 15 Stat. 41, c.25) were four statutes passed duri ...
in 1867 and the ratification of a new state constitution in North Carolina in 1868, nonwhites in the Robeson, both black freedmen and Indians, were re-enfranchised. The
Republican Party
Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party.
Republican Party may also refer to:
Africa
*Republican Party (Liberia)
* Republican Part ...
won a majority of the vote in elections in Robeson, displacing
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
planter families who had dominated county affairs. The party relied on the electoral support of black freedmen, Indians, and poor Buckskin whites. Republican officials were reluctant to take any action concerning the lawlessness in Robeson, since prosecuting former Home Guardsmen for their extrajudicial killings would harm their
law and order
In modern politics, law and order is the approach focusing on harsher enforcement and penalties as ways to reduce crime. Penalties for perpetrators of disorder may include longer terms of imprisonment, mandatory sentencing, three-strikes laws a ...
campaign, while targeting the Lowry Gang would split their local base of support. Despite this, the new Republican
Governor of North Carolina
The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The governor directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander in chief of the military forces of the state. The current governor, ...
,
William Woods Holden
William Woods Holden (November 24, 1818 – March 1, 1892) was an American politician who served as the List of Governors of North Carolina, 38th and 40th governor of North Carolina. He was appointed by President of the United States, President ...
issued a declaration of outlawry against Lowry and some of his associates, dividing the local Republican Party and threatening their hold on county politics.
In an attempt to broker a solution, local Republicans convinced Lowry to surrender himself to be tried in the postwar court system, but he shortly thereafter escaped. The Lowry Gang then killed Reuben King, the former sheriff of the county, during a robbery in January 1869, ending all attempts by Reconstruction authorities to negotiate a settlement. The gang continued its raids, and as a result federal troops were dispatched to assist the local authorities. In February 1872, the Lowry Gang committed their largest heist, stealing two safes from downtown Lumberton. Shortly thereafter, Henry Berry Lowry disappeared. Over the next two years bounty hunters tracked down the remaining gang members, and the war ended when the last active one was killed in February 1874.
End of Reconstruction and establishment of racial segregation
Dissatisfied with the 1868 Reconstruction constitution, Conservatives/ Democrats pushed for a convention to be held in 1875 to revise the document. Elections to determine the delegates to attend were held in August. Early returns indicated that a Republican-majority convention was likely, and the final results from Robeson County were, depending on the outcome, likely to provide either party with their majority. The state Democratic chairman sent a telegraph to the local Democrat-dominated elections board, writing, "As you love the state, hold Robeson." The board then voted to certify the elections without counting results from four Republican-majority precincts, giving the county's two Democratic delegate candidates a slim margin of victory. With their narrow majority at the convention, the Democrats reversed many of the reforms instituted in the 1868 constitution, making it harder for Republicans and blacks to hold office.
With Reconstruction thus ended, Democrats reasserted their dominance over politics in the South, but Republicans remained competitive in North Carolina and the Indian population in Robeson continued to support them. Though Republicans still made up the majority of registered voters in Robeson, disagreements caused by the Lowry War prevented them from solidifying local control. The Indians also resisted being treated the same as blacks under the new socio-political hierarchy, who were relegated to a subordinate position. Hamilton McMillan, a Robesonian member of the
North Carolina House of Representatives
The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...
and a Democrat, sought to switch the Indians' allegiance to solidify his party's control over the state. He convinced the General Assembly to formally recognize the Indians as "Croatoans"—arguing that they descended from English settlers of the
Lost Colony
The establishment of the Roanoke Colony ( ) was an attempt by Sir Walter Raleigh to found the first permanent English settlement in North America. The English, led by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, had briefly claimed St. John's, Newfoundland, in 15 ...
who mixed with
Croatan
The Croatan were a small Native American ethnic group living in the coastal areas of what is now North Carolina. They might have been a branch of the larger Roanoke people or allied with them.
The Croatan lived in current Dare County, an a ...
Indians.
In 1887, McMillan convinced the legislature to appropriate money for the establishment of a Croatan Normal School to train teachers who could staff new Indian schools. As a result, most Robeson Indians began to vote for Democrats, and their voting rights were preserved when blacks were disenfranchised by constitutional amendment in 1900. This distinction birthed a system of tripartite segregation which was unique in the
American South
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
, though whites generally regarded both the Indians and blacks as "
colored
''Colored'' (or ''coloured'') is a racial descriptor historically used in the United States during the Jim Crow, Jim Crow Era to refer to an African Americans, African American. In many places, it may be considered a Pejorative, slur, though it ...
". Indians and blacks nevertheless maintained separate identities. Some other county facilities were separated for "Whites", "Negroes", and "Indians", including the courthouse in Lumberton. Under this racial hierarchy, whites constituted the dominant racial caste and blacks were socially subordinated, while the Indians formed a middle caste and, though retaining more privileges than blacks, were still subject to discrimination.
The county's second rail line was established in 1884 by the
Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway
The Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway was a Southeastern railroad that operated in the Carolinas immediately after Reconstruction. It ran from Mount Airy, North Carolina southeast through Greensboro and Fayetteville to the Atlantic port of Wil ...
Wilmington and Weldon Railroad
The Wilmington and Weldon Railroad (W&W) name began use in 1855, having been originally chartered as the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad in 1834. At the time of its completion in 1840, the line was the longest railroad in the world with of track ...
built a north-south line through the county, intersecting with the Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad at the site of Campbell's Mill. A train station was subsequently built and a strong trading community was established. It was incorporated in 1895 as the town of Pembroke and in 1909 the Croatan Normal School was moved there from its original location in Pates. Pembroke became a center for Indian commercial activity. Due to the Indians' predominance in the community, the town lacked strict adherence to many
Jim Crow
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...
norms common in rest of the county and the wider South in the early-to-mid 20th century. St. Pauls and Red Springs developed as white-majority towns hostile to nonwhites, while the towns of Fairmont and Rowland retained significant black labor forces. In 1913 the General Assembly reclassified the Indians as
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
s.
Economic development and Great Depression
Following the stagnation of cotton prices in the 1890s, farmers in Robeson County began rapidly adopting tobacco as a regular crop. Many tobacco warehouses were built, and the town of Fairmont became the county's primary market town for the crop. Significant tobacco markets were also established in Rowland and Lumberton. The county's first cotton mill opened in 1897, and St. Pauls subsequently developed as the county's primary textile center. In the early 1900s area farmers organized a trade association and convinced the county government to appoint a local commissioner for agriculture.
In 1909, Robeson County's third courthouse was constructed. Two years later a portion of the county was split off and combined with a section of
Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to:
Australia
* Cumberland County, New South Wales
* the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia
Canada
*Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
United Kingdom
*Cumberland, historic county
*Cumberlan ...
to form
Hoke County
Hoke County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 52,082. Its county seat is Raeford.
Hoke County is part of the Fayetteville metropolitan statistical area. The county is home to part of t ...
. Bouts of typhoid, hookworm, smallpox, and a high infant mortality rate led Robeson's government to organize the first county-level public health department in the United States in 1912. Following the passage of a state drainage law in 1909, many swamps in the county were drained to increase usable farmland, improve transportation, and reduce malaria cases. Work on the drainage of the nearly 22,000-acre Back Swamp was completed in 1918. Most major roads in the county were paved with state support between the 1920s and 1947. In 1929, Robeson became the first county in the United States to appoint a county manager.
Similar to the rest of the country, local agriculture suffered throughout the 1920s following
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
due to decreased demand and limited market opportunities for crops. The
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
led to a severe decline in tobacco prices. Area farmers responded by increasing their output, but the expanded agricultural supply only pushed crop prices lower. Robesonians dubbed the time period the " Hoover Days". In response to the downturn, in 1936, the federal government created Pembroke Farms, a resettlement community for struggling Indian farmers. In 1938, the government offered loans for the establishment of a second project, the Red Banks Mutual Association. The association served as a cooperative with multiple Indian households farming common land from which profits would be attained and then divided among the members. Neither project proved successful, and by the 1940s both were facing neglect from the government, though the mutual association persisted into the 1960s before it finally collapsed.
Civil rights and desegregation
Hundreds of Indians from Robeson County fought for the United States during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in white units (blacks were segregated into different outfits). Many returned with a willingness to pursue social change. Some of them, especially the war veterans, disliked Robeson County's segregation. In 1945 a group of Indians petitioned the governor to support the restoration of an elected municipal government in Pembroke, which had been swapped for an appointive system in 1917 at the behest of the community's white minority. Two years later, the town returned to an elected government and Pembroke chose its first Indian mayor. Other Indian leaders lobbied for the adoption of a unique name to identify their group. In 1952 the name Lumbee, inspired by the Lumbee/Lumber River, was approved by the Indians in a referendum, and the following year the General Assembly formally recognized the label. In 1956 the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
formally extended partial recognition to the Lumbee Tribe, affirming their existence as an indigenous community but disallowing them from use of federal funds and services available to other Native American groups. Other Indians rejected the Lumbee designation and identified themselves as Tuscarora—stressing a connection to the
Tuscarora people
The Tuscarora (in Tuscarora ''Skarù:ręˀ'', "hemp gatherers" or "Shirt-Wearing People") are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government of the Iroquoian family, with members today in New York, USA, and Ontario, Canada. They c ...
who had populated North Carolina in the 1700s—with the aim of securing a better chance at full federal recognition.
In 1954 the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
issued its decision in ''
Brown v. Board of Education
''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregat ...
'', ruling that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The ruling sparked a significant amount of pro-segregation activity among whites in the South, including a resurgence in
white supremacist
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
(KKK) activity. Klan activity and violence increased in Robeson in the early 1950s before being suppressed under pressure from the district solicitor and the federal government. In early 1958, Klan leader James W. "Catfish" Cole of South Carolina attempted to revive the Klan in Robeson County. His group burned crosses in St. Pauls and Lumberton to intimidate the Lumbee community before advertising a rally to be held at Hayes Pond, near Maxton. The rally was held on the evening of January 18, attended by about 50 Klansmen—most not from the county, and joined by several hundred armed Lumbees. The Lumbees opened fire, inflicting minor injuries and causing the Klansmen to disperse. The event, dubbed by the press as the "
Battle of Hayes Pond
The Battle of Hayes Pond, also known as the Battle of Maxton Field or the Maxton Riot, was an armed confrontation between members of a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) organization and Lumbee, Lumbee Indians at a Klan rally near Maxton, North Carolina, on the ...
", garnered national media attention and led Klan activity against the Lumbees to cease.
Pembroke State College (formerly the Croatan Normal School) racially integrated in the 1950s and 1960s. After 1965, the rate of black and Native American voter registration substantially increased. By 1968, black and Native voters outnumbered whites. In 1970 the federal government ordered the county school board to integrate its institutions. The board responded by dissolving special Native American districts and consolidating Native students with black and white schools. This did not affect most white students in the county, who were largely served by independent municipal school districts. Feeling a loss of control over their traditional schools, many Lumbees and Tuscaroras protested integration and resisted the assignment of black staff and white and black students to their institutions.
In early 1973, dozens of buildings in the county, most of them owned by whites, were set ablaze. In March,
Old Main
Old Main is a term often applied to the original building present on college or university campuses in the United States. The building serves today as home to administrative offices, such as the president or provost, but in its early inception may ...
, a historic building on Pembroke State's campus which had symbolic importance to the Native American community, was burned. In 1974, a federal court ruled that the "double voting" system used by the county school board, whereby both county residents and municipal residents could vote for board members—despite the latter not being served by the county school system, was unconstitutional. Following a bitter 1986 referendum which received national attention, the municipal systems were merged with the county system in 1988.
Pembroke State College was elevated to university status in 1971 and was grouped under the
University of North Carolina
The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...
system the following year. In 1974 the county courthouse was demolished. It was replaced with a new structure in 1976.
Drug trafficking and economic stagnation
Robeson County became one of the top
moonshine
Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...
-producing counties in North Carolina in the 20th century. The prevalence of poverty enticed many Robesonians to sell moonshine to supplement their incomes, and the large number of isolated swamps and woods offered many places where
still
A still is an apparatus used to distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively boil and then cooling to condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic distillation apparatus, but on a much larger scale. Stills have been used ...
s could be concealed. Many Lumbees and Tuscaroras produced moonshine into the 1970s. The trade of marijuana eventually supplanted moonshine before being overtaken by cocaine trafficking in the 1980s, which was enabled by the county's midway location between Miami and New York City along
Interstate 95
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...
. The drug trade was fueled by worsening economic prospects in the region which began with the
1970s energy crisis
The 1970s energy crisis occurred when the Western world, particularly the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, faced substantial petroleum shortages as well as elevated prices. The two worst crises of this period wer ...
and increased living costs. By the mid-1980s, local agriculture was in decline; reliance on
mechanised agriculture
Mechanised agriculture or agricultural mechanization is the use of machinery and equipment, ranging from simple and basic hand tools to more sophisticated, motorized equipment and machinery, to perform agricultural operations. In modern times, po ...
and the consolidation of
smallholding
A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...
farms into larger corporate operations led to the loss of work for many farmers and their laborers. Newer manufacturing jobs did not provide sufficient employment and stability to residents to makeup for the shift. Over a quarter of county residents lived below the
poverty threshold
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, over half of most adults over the age of 25 lacked a high school diploma, and the local unemployment rate was higher than the state average.
Native Americans and blacks suffered disproportionately from the lack of prosperity, and many Native Americans partook in the drug trade. Narcotics-related activities led to murders and stoked social unrest, political tensions, and police corruption. Robeson's homicide rate grew to four times worse than the national average and the county had the highest numbers of drug-related arrests in the state in 1985 and 1986. In February 1988, two Tuscarora held the staff of the county newspaper, ''
The Robesonian
''The Robesonian'' is a newspaper published in Lumberton, North Carolina, Tuesday through Friday afternoon and Saturday and Sunday morning.
The ''Robesonian'' traces its heritage back to 1870, when it was established by W.S. McDiamid, a Baptist ...
'',
hostage
A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or ref ...
to protest local corruption. The county's reputation among North Carolinians suffered as a result of these events. Political action motivated by discontent led to an increasing number of blacks and Native Americans to run for office. In 2002, the
North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) is a state-level law enforcement agency in North Carolina.
Background
The SBI provides investigative assistance to local law enforcement agencies when requested by police, sheriffs, distric ...
opened an inquiry into corruption allegations in the Robeson County Sheriff's Office. Their subsequent Operation Tarnished Badge became the largest police corruption investigation in state history, and led to 22 officers, including Sheriff
Glenn Maynor
Glenn Allen Maynor (born 1946) is an American retired law enforcement officer and politician who served as Sheriff of Robeson County, North Carolina from 1994 until 2004.
Early life
Glenn Maynor was born in 1946 in Lumberton, North Carolina, U ...
, being convicted for various crimes.
Deindustrialization and hurricanes
Following the passage of the
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ; es, Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; french: Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that crea ...
in 1992, Robeson County lost thousands of manufacturing jobs, followed shortly by a knock-on loss of employment in other sectors. Deindustrialization coupled with the decline in the tobacco industry prompted by the
Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform Act The Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform Act is a component of the American Jobs Creation Act, passed in the United States in October 2004. The main component of the Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform Act is the Tobacco Transition Payment Program (TTPP, ...
of 2004 caused deep economic and social damage, with increasing
underemployment
Underemployment is the underuse of a worker because a job does not use the worker's skills, is part-time, or leaves the worker idle. Examples include holding a part-time job despite desiring full-time work, and overqualification, in which the em ...
, rising poverty, growing
welfare dependency
Welfare dependency is the state in which a person or household is reliant on government welfare benefits for their income for a prolonged period of time, and without which they would not be able to meet the expenses of daily living. The United St ...
, and an increase in certain types of crimes. Economic development thereafter increasingly focused on the supply of fossil fuels, poultry farming, biogas and bio-mass facilities, and logging. The Latino population also increased as Mexican immigrants—many of them undocumented—supplanted black agricultural workers.
In 2016, the county was impacted by
Hurricane Matthew
Hurricane Matthew was an extremely powerful Atlantic hurricane which caused catastrophic damage and a humanitarian crisis in Haiti, as well as widespread devastation in the southeastern United States. The deadliest Atlantic hurricane sinc ...
, leading to record flooding in Lumberton. In 2018, the county was struck by
Hurricane Florence
Hurricane Florence was a powerful and long-lived Cape Verde hurricane that caused catastrophic damage in the Carolinas in September 2018, primarily as a result of freshwater flooding due to torrential rain. The sixth named storm, third hu ...
, which broke the record. The storms heavily damaged thousands of residences throughout the county, and entire streets in south and west Lumberton were left abandoned. The destruction of significant amounts of affordable housing accelerated a population decline in the county which had begun in 2013. Falling student enrollments in the county school system and the resulting decline in state education subsidies led the county school board to close nine schools in 2019. During the
2020 United States presidential election
The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Ha ...
, President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
held a rally in Robeson County, marking the first time a sitting president had ever held a formal appearance there.
Geography and physical features
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, Robeson County has of land area. It is the largest county in North Carolina by area. Owing to its large size, the county was historically sometimes referred to informally as the "State of Robeson". It is bordered by the state of
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
, and the
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio
Columbus may also refer to:
Places ...
,
Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
.
Robeson is located in the state's Coastal Plain region and is one of the state's ten counties within the Sandhills region, characterized by sandy and fertile soil. It hosts 11 major soil types, mostly sandy
loam
Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–sil ...
s. It has a
temperate climate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
and rarely experiences snowfall. The county hosts many
pocosin
A pocosin is a type of palustrine wetland with deep, acidic, sandy, peat soils. Groundwater saturates the soil except during brief seasonal dry spells and during prolonged droughts. Pocosin soils are nutrient-deficient (oligotrophic), especially ...
s,
bald cypress
''Taxodium distichum'' (bald cypress, swamp cypress; french: cyprès chauve;
''cipre'' in Louisiana) is a deciduous conifer in the family Cupressaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States. Hardy and tough, this tree adapts to a wide r ...
forests,
Carolina bay
Carolina bays are elliptical to circular depressions concentrated along the Atlantic seaboard within coastal New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and north Florida.Kaczorowski, R. T. (1977) '' ...
s, creeks (including Shoe Heel and Big Shoe Heel), and 50 swamps. The swamps feed into the Lumber River, which flows eastward from the northwest corner of the county to the southeast corner. Portions of the
Lumber River State Park
Lumber River State Park is a North Carolina state park along the Lumber River in Scotland, Hoke, Robeson and Columbus counties. It covers along a 115-mile (185-km) stretch of the Lumber River. Lumber River State Park is located in North Carol ...
are located in Robeson, as is the entirety of the Warwick Mill Bay State Natural Area.
Most of Robeson County lies within the Lumber River basin. The river and its banks support many flora and fauna. Resident mammals include deer, raccoons, muskrats, beavers, minks, and otters. The river also supports wild turkeys and several varieties of ducks. Local fish include catfish, robin, perch, pike, bluegill bream, jack, and largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, black crappie, and redbreast sunfish. Reptilian life includes copperhead snakes and some water snakes including cottonmouths. Robeson County is also one of the westernmost regular habitats in the state for
American alligators
The American alligator (''Alligator mississippiensis''), sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator or common alligator, is a large crocodilian reptile native to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two extant species in the g ...
. Plant life supported by the river includes bald cypress, gum, poplar,
loblolly-bay
''Gordonia lasianthus'' (loblolly-bay, holly-bay, gordonia, or bay) is a small to medium-sized evergreen tree or shrub found in acidic, swampy soils of pinelands and bays on the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains of the southeastern United States. ...
, and juniper trees. Ferns,
Virginia creeper
''Parthenocissus quinquefolia'', known as Virginia creeper, Victoria creeper, five-leaved ivy, or five-finger, is a species of flowering vine in the grape family, Vitaceae. It is native to eastern and central North America, from southeastern Ca ...
,
Spanish moss
Spanish moss (''Tillandsia usneoides'') is an epiphytic flowering plant that often grows upon large trees in tropical and subtropical climates. It is native to much of Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Central America, South America, the Southern Uni ...
,
pitcher plants
Pitcher plants are several different carnivorous plants which have modified leaves known as pitfall traps—a prey-trapping mechanism featuring a deep cavity filled with digestive liquid. The traps of what are considered to be "true" pitcher p ...
,
Venus flytrap
The Venus flytrap (''Dionaea muscipula'') is a carnivorous plant native to subtropical wetlands on the East Coast of the United States in North Carolina and South Carolina. It catches its prey—chiefly insects and arachnids—with a trapping ...
s, also reside along the river and its tributaries.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census
The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, there were 116,530 people. Lumberton was the most populous community, with 19,025 residents. About 51 percent of county denizens were women. Racially, 30,041 identified as white, 26,424 identified as black or African American, 44,871 identified as American Indian, 908 identified as Asian, and 79 identified as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 8,192 identified as other, and 6,015 identified as two or more races. Of the total among the races, 11,757 people identified as Hispanic or Latino. In proportions, the county was approximately 38 percent Native American, 22 percent white, 22 percent black, and 10 percent Hispanic. It is a
majority-minority
A majority-minority or minority-majority area is a term used to refer to a administrative division, subdivision in which one or more minority group, racial, ethnic, and/or religious minorities (relative to the whole country's population) make up a ...
county and proportionately has the largest Native American population of any North Carolina county.
Robeson County is included in the Fayetteville–Lumberton–
Laurinburg
Laurinburg is a city in and the county seat of Scotland County, North Carolina, United States. Located in southern North Carolina near the South Carolina border, Laurinburg is southwest of Fayetteville and is home to St. Andrews University. ...
, NC
Combined Statistical Area
Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...
.
Demographic change
Robeson County experienced a loss of 17,638 people between 2010 and 2020, a decline of nearly three percent and the largest numerical decline among North Carolina's counties. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, the white demographic experienced the largest decrease in size, while Hispanics and people who identify as two or more races experienced the most significant increases. The proportion of county residents under the age of 18 dropped by 22 percent.
Law and government
Government
Robeson County is run by a commission–manager government. The county commission comprises eight members elected from
single-member district
A single-member district is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. Single-member districts are also sometimes called single-winner vo ...
s in four-year staggered terms. Presided over by a chairman elected by the commissioners from among their members for a one-year term, the commission has legislative and policy-making authority over county government. The commissioners appoint a county manager who holds executive authority over county administration and implements the decisions of the commission. The manager appoints directors of county government departments. The county government supplies emergency services, social services, public health services, recreation, and economic development in its jurisdiction. It also maintains a water system and landfill. The county government is funded by a local property tax. Several county departments are headquartered in the Robeson County Administration Center in Lumberton.
Robeson County is a member of the Lumber River Council of Governments, a regional planning board representing five counties. The county also has its own Soil and Water Conservation District led by an elected supervisor. Robeson County is located in
North Carolina's 7th congressional district
North Carolina's 7th congressional district stretches from Wilmington and the South Carolina border to the southern suburbs of Raleigh.
The district is represented by Rep. David Rouzer, a Republican. He has been in office since 2015.
From 2 ...
the North Carolina Senate's 24th district, and the North Carolina House of Representatives' 46th and 47th district. Robeson is one of the four counties within the jurisdiction of the
Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina
The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is a state-recognized tribe in North Carolina. The tribe represents Lumbee people. They are not federally recognized as a Native American tribe.
With an estimated 55,000 members, the Lumbee Tribe of North Caroli ...
, and tribal members within the county elect some members of the tribal council. Its headquarters is in Pembroke.
Law enforcement and judicial system
Robeson County lies within the bounds of the 20th Prosecutorial District, the 16B
Superior Court
In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...
District, and the 16B District Court District. County residents elect a county sheriff, clerk of Superior Court, and district attorney. Judicial officials work out of the Robeson County Courthouse in Lumberton. Law enforcement is provided across the county by the sheriff's office, while the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and the towns of Lumberton, St. Pauls, Maxton, Red Springs, Rowland, Pembroke, and Fairmont retain their own police departments. According to an October 2021 report issued by the State Bureau of Investigation, in 2020 Robeson experienced the highest violent crime rate of the state's counties at 1,190 incidents per 100,000 people, and the third-worst overall crime rate.
Politics
Politically, Robeson County has historically been dominated by the Democratic Party. A majority of Robesonians voted for Republican presidential candidate
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
in 1972, but then voted for Democratic presidential candidates in the next nine elections. The local Republican Party grew in the early 21st century, fueled by prevailing religious conservatism in the county and discontent with the loss of manufacturing jobs. Many of the Democrats who remained with their party were
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
. Democrats continued to win state and local races by large margins in the 2000s but their margins of victory in presidential and congressional races decreased. In 2016 and 2020, county voters favored Republican
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
, who won over majorities of white and Lumbee voters by championing socially conservative issues, criticizing
free trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...
agreements, and declaring his support for full federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe. The area also began increasingly voting for Republican state and local candidates, with Robesonians in 2016 electing their first Republican state senator since Reconstruction. In 2020, Republicans won most races in the county. As of April 2022, Robeson hosts about 70,400 registered voters, comprising about 36,500 registered Democrats, 12,300 registered Republicans and 21,300 unaffiliated.
Economy
Robeson County was largely reliant on the textile and tobacco industries throughout much of the 20th century. Agriculture predominated in employment in 1960, and the county earned the second-highest agriculture related revenue among all Southern counties, though its per-capita income remained low. By 1970, agriculture had been overtaken by manufacturing, and the completion of Interstate 95 within several years accelerated industrialization. By 1990, fewer than 2,300 Robesonians worked in agriculture, and manufacturing accounted for a third of the county's employment. The tobacco and manufacturing sectors rapidly declined in the 1990s and 2000s, with manufacturing especially adversely impacted by several national
free trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...
agreements. The Robeson County Office of Economic Development determined that the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement led to the closure of 32 manufacturing facilities and the loss of over 6,000 jobs between 1995 and 2005. From 1997 to 2007, the county lost 22,860 acres in farmland.
Tobacco is still grown in the county, as are corn, soybeans, sorghum, peanuts, and cotton. Some local landowners raise pine trees and sell them as timber. Poultry farming has also rapidly increased since the 1990s. In recent years commercial activity has grown along the Interstate 95 corridor, Chicken processing, pork processing, and the
pellet fuel
Pellet fuels (or pellets) are biofuels made from compressed organic matter or biomass. Pellets can be made from any one of five general categories of biomass: industrial waste and co-products, food waste, agricultural residues, energy crops, and ...
industry have supplanted much of the former textile industry. The significant presence of such high-pollution industries in the county has led some residents to describe the area as a
sacrifice zone A sacrifice zone or sacrifice area (often termed a national sacrifice zone or national sacrifice area) is a geographic area that has been permanently impaired by heavy environmental alterations or economic disinvestment, often through locally unwant ...
. Manufacturing, health care, and retail are the largest-employing sectors in Robeson County. According to the American Community Survey, from 2017 to 2021 the estimated median household income was $36,736. Over 26 percent of local residents are impoverished, double the statewide rate, including 39 percent of children.
Transportation
Robeson County is served by
Interstate 95
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...
, which travels north-south through the county, and
Interstate 74
}
Interstate 74 (I-74) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange with I-80 in Davenport, Iowa (Quad Cities); the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interchange ...
(uncomplete), which travels east-west. The two routes intersect to the southwest of Lumberton. It is also served by
U.S. Route 74
U.S. Route 74 (US 74) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Primarily in North Carolina, it serves as an important highway from the mountains to the ...
U.S. Route 501
U.S. Route 501 (US 501) is a spur of U.S. Route 1. It runs 355 miles (571 km) from Buena Vista, Virginia at U.S. Route 60 to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at U.S. Route 17 Business.
It passes through the states of Virginia, North Carolina a ...
130 130 may refer to:
*130 (number)
*AD 130
Year 130 ( CXXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Catullinus and Aper (or, l ...
211
Year 211 ( CCXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, in the Roman Empire it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Terentius and Bassus (or, less frequently, year 964 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomin ...
I-295 Interstate 295 is the designation for several Interstate Highways in the United States:
*Interstate 295 (Delaware–Pennsylvania), a bypass of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
*Interstate 295 (Florida), a beltway around central Jacksonville
*Interstate 29 ...
),
710
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Year 710 ( DCCX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 710 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar er ...
,
711 711 may refer to:
* 711 (number), a natural number
* AD 711, a year of the 8th century AD
* 711 BC, a year of the 8th century BC
* 7-1-1, the telephone number of the Telecommunications Relay Service in the United States and Canada
* 7-Eleven, a cha ...
, and
904
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Year 904 (Roman numerals, CMIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* July 29 – Sack of Thessalonica (904), Sack of Thessalo ...
. County government supports a
public transport bus service
Public transport bus services are generally based on regular operation of transit buses along a route calling at agreed bus stops according to a published public transport timetable.
History of buses Origins
While there are indications ...
, the South East Area Transit System. Airplane facilities are provided by the
Lumberton Municipal Airport
Lumberton Municipal Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) west of the central business district of Lumberton, a city in Robeson County, North Carolina, United States. It is included in the ...
in Lumberton. The Laurinburg–Maxton Airport, situated in Scotland County near the border with Robeson, serves both the Scotland city of Laurinburg and the Robeson town of Maxton. Railroads in Robeson County are operated by
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
. The longest straight stretch of railroad track in the United States, spanning 78.86 miles, passes through Robeson.
Education
The
Public Schools of Robeson County Public Schools of Robeson County is a school district headquartered in Lumberton, North Carolina. It operates public schools in Robeson County.
the district had about 23,000 students.
Schools Secondary schools
; High schools
* Fairmont High Scho ...
(PSRC) operates public schools in the area. As of 2022, the system operates 36 schools and serves about 23,000 students. The state classifies the PSRC as a low-performing district. The county hosts two post-secondary institutions: the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and Robeson Community College. Additionally, the PSRC supports the Robeson Planetarium, while county government also runs seven libraries. A county history museum is located in Lumberton. According to the 2021
American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...
, an estimated 14.3 percent of county residents have attained a bachelor's degree or higher level of education.
Healthcare
Robeson County is served by a single hospital, UNC Health Southeastern, based in Lumberton. The Robeson Health Care Corporation also provides medical care to local residents through various clinics. According to the 2022 County Health Rankings produced by the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
Population Health Institute, Robeson County had the worst health outcomes of all of North Carolina's counties. Per the ranking, 32 percent of adults say they are in poor or fair health, the average
life expectancy
Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time an organism is expected to live, based on the year of its birth, current age, and other demographic factors like sex. The most commonly used measure is life expectancy at birth ...
is 72 years—six years lower than the state average, and 19 percent of people under the age of 65 lack
health insurance
Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...
. The county has been heavily impacted by the opiod epidemic, and in 2021 suffered from the highest fatal opioid overdose rate among North Carolina's counties.
Culture
Robeson is pronounced by local residents as "RAH-bih-sun" or "ROB-uh-son". Outsiders sometimes pronounce it as "ROW-bih-sun". In line with the predominantly tri-ethnic nature of the county, whites, blacks, and Native Americans generally operate as three different sociocultural entities. Members of each group generally express dialectal differences in their speech. The collard sandwich—consisting of fried cornbread, collard greens, and
fatback
Fatback (also known as streak of lean or streak of fat) is a cut of meat from a domestic pig. It consists of the layer of adipose tissue (subcutaneous fat) under the skin of the back, with or without the skin (pork rind). Fatback is "hard fat ...
—is a popular dish among the Lumbee people in the county. Numerous small communities in the county are culturally insular owing to their lack of contact with people from outside the county. Most towns host their own annual festivals. The Lumbee Homecoming, a festival for Lumbee tribal members, is held annually in late June and early July and often brings thousands of Lumbees as well as tourists to the county. Fishing and hunting have long been popular activities in the county, both as means of acquiring food and as sports. The Carolina boat—a style of skiff of marine plywood construction—originated in the county. Many in the county are religious, and religion is a key part of local public life. Several area buildings and sites have been listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
Marietta
Marietta may refer to:
Places in the United States
*Marietta, Jacksonville, Florida
*Marietta, Georgia, the largest US city named Marietta
*Marietta, Illinois
*Marietta, Indiana
*Marietta, Kansas
*Marietta, Minnesota
*Marietta, Mississippi
*Mar ...
townships
A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...
Henry Berry Lowry
Henry Berry Lowry ( – unknown after 1872) was an American outlaw. A Lumbee Native American, he led the Lowry Gang in North Carolina during and after the American Civil War. Many local North Carolinians remember him as a Robin Hood figure. Lowry ...
(1845–c.1872), outlaw who disappeared
*
Rhoda Strong Lowry
Rhoda Strong Lowry (1849 – October 18, 1909), also known as the "Queen of Scuffletown", was a Lumbee Native American woman from North Carolina. She allegedly helped her husband, Henry Berry Lowrie, flee after he and his gang killed many white ...
(1849–1909), wife of Henry
*
Angus Wilton McLean
Angus Wilton McLean (April 20, 1870June 21, 1935) was an American lawyer and banker who was the 56th governor of North Carolina, serving from 1925 to 1929. McLean also served as Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of the Treas ...
(1870–1935),
Governor of North Carolina
The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The governor directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander in chief of the military forces of the state. The current governor, ...
from 1924–1928
*
Francis M. Wishart
Francis "Frank" Marion Wishart (April 13, 1837 – May 1872) was an American military officer. He served with the 46th North Carolina Infantry Regiment of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Wounded in combat, he left the w ...
(1837–1872), military officer
See also
*
List of counties in North Carolina
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The U.S. state of North Carolina is divided into 100 counties. North Carolina ranks 28th in size by area, but has the seventh-highest number of counties in the country.
Following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, King Charles ...
* Glatthaar, Joseph T. ''The March to the Sea and Beyond: Sherman's Troops in the Savannah and Carolinas Campaigns''. New York: New York University Press, 1985.
* Hauptman, Lawrence M. "River Pilots and Swamp Guerillas: Pamunkee and Lumbee Unionists." In'' Between Two Fires: American Indians in the Civil War''. New York: Free Press, 1995.
* McKinnon, Henry A. Jr. ''Historical Sketches of Robeson County''. N.P.: Historic Robeson, Inc., 2001.
* E. Stanly Godbold Jr. and Mattie U. Russell, ''"Confederate Colonel And Cherokee Chief: The Life Of William Holland Thomas"'', University of Tennessee Press, 1990