Laurinburg is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Scotland County, North Carolina, United States. Located in southern North Carolina near the

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

border, Laurinburg is southwest of Fayetteville and is home to St. Andrews University. The population was 14,978 at the 2020 Census.

History

Settlers arrived at the present town site around 1785. The settlement was named for a prominent family, the McLaurins. The name was originally spelled Laurinburgh and pronounced as if it were spelled "Laurinboro", similar to the pronunciation of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

in Scotland, though the "h" was later dropped. The community was initially located within the jurisdiction of Richmond County. In 1840, Laurinburg had a saloon, a store, and a few shacks. Laurinburg High School, a private school, was established in 1852. The settlement prospered in the years following. A line of the Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad was built through Laurinburg in the 1850s, with the first train reaching Laurinburg in 1861. The railroad's shops were moved to Laurinburg in 1865 in the hope they would be safer from Union Army attack; however, in March of that year, Union forces reached Laurinburg and burned the railroad depot and temporary shops. The shops were later rebuilt. Laurinburg was incorporated in 1877. In 1894 the railway shops were moved out of the town and, combined with low cotton prices, property values in the area decreased and the town experienced an

economic depression An economic depression is a period of carried long-term economic downturn that is the result of lowered economic activity in one or more major national economies. It is often understood in economics that economic crisis and the following recession ...

. By the late 1800s Richmond County had a majority black population and tended to support the Republican Party in elections, while the state of North Carolina was dominated by the Democratic Party. As a result of this, white Democrats built up a political base in Laurinburg and in 1899 the town and the surrounding area was split off from Richmond into the new Scotland County. The town was declared the seat of Scotland County in 1900 and the first courthouse was erected the following year. As their influence in public affairs and share of public resources declined, local black citizens created the Laurinburg Normal Industrial Institute, later known as Laurinburg Academy, in 1904. Main Street in Laurinburg was paved in 1914. Beginning in 1929, the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

severely impacted Laurinburg, causing two banks to fail. A new courthouse was built in 1964. Laurinburg's downtown suffered an economic decline beginning in the 1980s when the

Belk Belk, Inc. is an American department store chain founded in 1888 by William Henry Belk in Monroe, North Carolina, with nearly 300 locations in 16 states. Belk stores and Belk.com offer apparel, shoes, accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, a ...

department store moved to a shopping center further away. The downtown was heavily impacted by Hurricane Florence in 2018.

Historic sites

Several sites in Laurinburg are listed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Scotland County, North Carolina, including: * John Blue House * Mag Blue House * Central School * Dr. Evan Alexander Erwin House * E. Hervey Evans House * Thomas J. Gill House * Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church * Laurinburg Commercial Historic District * St. Andrews University * Stewart-Hawley-Malloy House * Laurinburg Institute * Villa Nova

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which 12.55 square miles (32.5 km²) is land and (1.26%) is water. Laurinburg is located northeast of Bennettsville, east of Rockingham, west of Lumberton, and southwest of Fayetteville.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 14,978 people, 5,712 households, and 3,544 families residing in the city. The black population is concentrated in the northern section of the city.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 15,874 people, 6,136 households, and 4,221 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 6,603 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 50.54%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 43.06%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 4.23% Native American, 0.76% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.35% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.06% of the population. There were 6,136 households, out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.8% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 23.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.2% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.00. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.6% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $29,064, and the median income for a family was $37,485. Males had a median income of $31,973 versus $25,243 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $16,165. About 19.7% of families and 23.6% of the population were below the

poverty line 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 ...

, including 35.5% of those under age 18 and 18.6% of those age 65 or over. The state Scotland Correctional Institution, located near the airport, opened in 2003.

Education

High school

* Scotland High School

College

The city is home to St. Andrews University, formerly known as St. Andrews Presbyterian College.

Media

Laurinburg is served by the local newspaper, '' The Laurinburg Exchange''. The local radio station is WLNC.

Notable people

* Russ Adams, former MLB infielder for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

* Megan Brigman, former professional women's soccer player * Brent Butler, former MLB infielder * Bucky Covington, country musician and ''American Idol'' Season 5 finalist * Wes Covington, former MLB outfielder * Robert Dozier, professional basketball player * Lorinza Harrington, former NBA player * Joseph Roswell Hawley, four-term U.S. Senator, two-term U.S. Congressman, Governor of

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, and Union Army Major General * Harriet McBryde Johnson, activist for the disabled * Sam Jones, former NBA Shooting Guard, 10x NBA Champion, 5x NBA All-Star, 3x All-NBA Second Team, NBA Anniversary Team Boston Celtics#24 retired * Samantha Joye, oceanographer known for her work studying the

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill was an environmental disaster off the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico, on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. It is considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum in ...

* Terrell Manning, NFL player * William S. McArthur, former

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

colonel and

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

* Bejun Mehta,

countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a ...

* James Dickson Phillips Jr., United States Court of Appeals judge * William R. Purcell, physician and politician * Travian Robertson, NFL defensive end * Kelvin Sampson, college basketball coach * Terry Sanford, former Governor of North Carolina and U.S. Senator * Charlie Scott, NBA All-Star and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill player, Olympic gold medalist in 1968, and valedictorian at Laurinburg Institute * Woody Shaw, hard-bop (jazz) trumpeter * Franklin Stubbs, MLB player * Hilee Taylor, NFL defensive end * Leonard Thompson,

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

golfer *

Ben Vereen Benjamin Augustus Vereen (né Middleton; October 10, 1946) is an American actor, dancer and singer. He gained prominence for his performances in the original Broadway productions of the musicals ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', for which he received ...

, actor, dancer, and singer * Jacoby Watkins, former NFL cornerback and

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

football player * Zamir White, NFL Running Back, Las Vegas Raiders * Christopher Witmore academic archaeologist and author

Sister cities

Laurinburg has one

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

, as designated by Sister Cities International: * Oban, Argyll and Bute, Scotland

References

Bibliography

External links

*
Laurinburg-Scotland County Area Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Cities in North Carolina Cities in Scotland County, North Carolina County seats in North Carolina