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Laurinburg, North Carolina facts for kids

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Laurinburg, North Carolina
Main Street in Laurinburg
Main Street in Laurinburg
Official seal of Laurinburg, North Carolina
Seal
Nickname(s): 
LBG, The Burg
Location in Scotland County and the state of North Carolina.
Location in Scotland County and the state of North Carolina.
Country United States
State North Carolina
County Scotland
Incorporated 1877
Area
 • Total 12.71 sq mi (32.91 km2)
 • Land 12.55 sq mi (32.50 km2)
 • Water 0.16 sq mi (0.41 km2)
Elevation
217 ft (66 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 14,978
 • Density 1,193.75/sq mi (460.91/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
28352-28353
Area codes 910, 472
FIPS code 37-37220
GNIS feature ID 2404892

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. The population at the 2010 census was 15,962 people.

History

Laurinburg, North Carolina (circa 1910)
Main Street, c. 1910

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 the same as Edinburgh, 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.

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 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 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 city has a total area of 12.6 square miles (33 km2), of which 12.4 square miles (32.1 km2) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2) (1.27%) is water.

Laurinburg is located 19 miles (31 km) northeast of Bennettsville, 26 miles (42 km) east of Rockingham, 32 miles (51 km) west of Lumberton, and 41 miles (66 km) southwest of Fayetteville.

Climate

Climate data for Laurinburg, North Carolina, (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1946–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 82
(28)
84
(29)
91
(33)
96
(36)
100
(38)
106
(41)
107
(42)
107
(42)
103
(39)
101
(38)
88
(31)
81
(27)
107
(42)
Mean maximum °F (°C) 73.3
(22.9)
76.7
(24.8)
83.1
(28.4)
88.9
(31.6)
93.6
(34.2)
98.3
(36.8)
99.3
(37.4)
98.0
(36.7)
93.4
(34.1)
87.6
(30.9)
80.1
(26.7)
74.1
(23.4)
100.8
(38.2)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 55.0
(12.8)
59.4
(15.2)
67.1
(19.5)
76.7
(24.8)
83.8
(28.8)
89.9
(32.2)
93.0
(33.9)
90.7
(32.6)
85.5
(29.7)
76.4
(24.7)
66.0
(18.9)
58.2
(14.6)
75.2
(24.0)
Daily mean °F (°C) 44.1
(6.7)
47.5
(8.6)
54.6
(12.6)
63.4
(17.4)
72.0
(22.2)
79.1
(26.2)
82.4
(28.0)
80.5
(26.9)
75.0
(23.9)
64.3
(17.9)
53.9
(12.2)
47.1
(8.4)
63.7
(17.6)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 33.2
(0.7)
35.6
(2.0)
42.0
(5.6)
50.1
(10.1)
60.2
(15.7)
68.2
(20.1)
71.8
(22.1)
70.3
(21.3)
64.5
(18.1)
52.2
(11.2)
41.8
(5.4)
36.0
(2.2)
52.2
(11.2)
Mean minimum °F (°C) 17.1
(−8.3)
21.6
(−5.8)
26.1
(−3.3)
34.1
(1.2)
46.1
(7.8)
57.6
(14.2)
63.9
(17.7)
62.0
(16.7)
52.0
(11.1)
36.6
(2.6)
26.5
(−3.1)
21.9
(−5.6)
15.2
(−9.3)
Record low °F (°C) −3
(−19)
6
(−14)
8
(−13)
24
(−4)
34
(1)
45
(7)
53
(12)
48
(9)
39
(4)
21
(−6)
14
(−10)
5
(−15)
−3
(−19)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 3.55
(90)
3.26
(83)
3.42
(87)
2.95
(75)
3.50
(89)
5.01
(127)
4.33
(110)
5.08
(129)
5.48
(139)
3.19
(81)
3.24
(82)
3.55
(90)
46.56
(1,183)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 0.5
(1.3)
0.4
(1.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.2
(0.51)
1.1
(2.8)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 11.3 9.9 10.2 8.9 9.0 11.2 11.8 11.7 9.2 7.9 8.6 11.7 121.4
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 0.3 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5
Source: NOAA

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1880 968
1890 1,357 40.2%
1900 1,334 −1.7%
1910 2,322 74.1%
1920 2,643 13.8%
1930 3,312 25.3%
1940 5,685 71.6%
1950 7,134 25.5%
1960 8,242 15.5%
1970 8,859 7.5%
1980 11,480 29.6%
1990 11,643 1.4%
2000 15,874 36.3%
2010 15,962 0.6%
2020 14,978 −6.2%
U.S. Decennial Census

2020 census

Laurinburg Racial Composition
Race Num. Perc.
White 5,552 37.07%
Black or African American 7,115 47.5%
Native American 1,012 6.76%
Asian 189 1.26%
Pacific Islander 6 0.04%
Other/Mixed 688 4.59%
Hispanic or Latino 416 2.78%

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.

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

Sister cities

Laurinburg has one sister city, as designated by Sister Cities International:

  • Oban, Argyll and Bute, Scotland

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Laurinburg para niños

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