Moore County, North Carolina

Moore County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 99,727.

Its county seat is Carthage and its largest municipality is the Village of Pinehurst. It is a border county between the Piedmont and the Atlantic Coastal Plain.

In the early years, the economy was dependent on agriculture and lumber. The lumber business expanded after railroads reached the area, improving access to markets. It lies at the northern edge of the area known as the Sandhills region, and developed resorts in the late 19th century, aided by railroads.

Since the early 21st century, Moore County comprises the Aberdeen- Pinehurst- Southern Pines, North Carolina Micropolitan Statistical Area. Moore County is a part of the Fayetteville Combined Statistical Area, which as of 2019 had an estimated population of 854,826, making it the 65th largest CSA in the United States.

History

Indigenous peoples occupied this area, with varying cultures over thousands of years. In the historic period that included European encounter, tribes included Algonquian-speaking tribes, Siouan-speaking tribes and the Iroquoian-speaking Cherokee in the western mountains.

This area was settled by Gaels from the Scottish Highlands and Islands and their descendants. The Loyalist war poet Iain mac Mhurchaidh, a member of Clan Macrae from Kintail and a major figure in Scottish Gaelic literature, purchased 150 acres in Moore County in 1775.

The county was formed in 1785, shortly after the American Revolutionary War, from part of Cumberland County. It was named after Alfred Moore, an officer in the American Revolutionary War and associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

In 1907 parts of Moore and Chatham counties were combined to form Lee County.

Moore County has many golf resorts in the Southern Pines/ Pinehurst area, and hosted the 1996 and 2001 Women's U.S. Opens, as well as the 1999 and 2005 Men's U.S. Opens. The Women's Open returned to Southern Pines in 2007. In 2014, they consecutively hosted both the Women's and Men's Opens in the same year, a first in U.S. Open history.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.1%) is water.

State and local protected areas/sites

* House in the Horseshoe
* Sandhills Game Land (part)
* Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve

Major water bodies

* Aberdeen Creek (Drowning Creek tributary)
* Auman Lake
* Big Governors Creek
* Crane Creek (Little River tributary)
* Deep Creek
* Deep River
* Drowning Creek
* Dunhams Creek
* Horse Creek
* Jackson Creek
* Killets Creek
* Lake Surf
* Little Governors Creek
* Little River (Cape Fear River tributary)
* McLendons Creek
* Pagers Lake
* Pinehurst Lake
* Richland Creek
* Thagards Lake
* Watson Lake
* Wolf Creek

Adjacent counties

* Chatham County - north
* Lee County - northeast
* Harnett County - east
* Cumberland County - southeast
* Hoke County - southeast
* Scotland County - south
* Richmond County - southwest
* Montgomery County - west
* Randolph County - north

Major highways

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Major infrastructure

* Gilliam - McConnell Airfield, small local airfield located in the county
* Moore County Airport
* Southern Pines Station

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 99,727 people, 41,530 households, and 27,191 families residing in the county. The population density was 107 people per square mile (41/km²). There were 48,237 housing units at an average density of 50 per square mile (19/km²).

2000 census

There were 30,713 households, out of which 26.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.10% were married couples living together, 10.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.50% were non-families. 24.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 21.2% under the age of 18, 6.60% from 18 to 24, 25.80% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 23.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 93.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $48,348, and the median income for a family was $48,492. Males had a median income of $31,260 versus $23,526 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,377. About 8.00% of families and 11.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.60% of those under age 18 and 10.10% of those age 65 or over.

By 2005 78.0% of the county population was non-Hispanic whites. 5.1% of the population was Latino. 14.8% of the population was African-American.

Government and politics

Since the late 1960s and the civil rights movement and other cultural changes, Moore has become a supporter of Republican presidential candidates. It was one of the first counties east of the Blue Ridge to turn Republican, having supported the GOP nominee in all but one election from 1952 onward. The last Democrat to carry the county was Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, and Jimmy Carter in 1980 was the last to reach forty percent of the vote. The Republican Party also dominates many local and state elections in majority-white precincts and districts.

Moore County is a member of the regional Triangle J Council of Governments. In the North Carolina House of Representatives, Moore County lies chiefly in the 52nd District, represented by Republican Deputy Majority Whip James L. Boles Jr. The northwestern part of the county lies within the 78th District, which also covers the southeastern part of Randolph County and is represented by Republican Allen McNeill. In the North Carolina Senate, Moore County lies entirely within the 29th Senate District represented by Majority Whip Jerry W. Tillman.

The North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

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