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Lumberton, North Carolina
City
A view down Elm Street in Lumberton
A view down Elm Street in Lumberton
Lumberton, North Carolina is located in North Carolina
Lumberton, North Carolina
Lumberton, North Carolina
Location in North Carolina
Lumberton, North Carolina is located in the United States
Lumberton, North Carolina
Lumberton, North Carolina
Location in the United States
Country United States
State North Carolina
County Robeson
Area
 • Total 17.81 sq mi (46.14 km2)
 • Land 17.73 sq mi (45.93 km2)
 • Water 0.08 sq mi (0.20 km2)
Elevation
131 ft (40 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total 21,542
 • Estimate 
(2019)
20,484
 • Density 1,155.00/sq mi (445.94/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
28358-28360
Area code(s) 910
FIPS code 37-39700
GNIS feature ID 0989128
Website www.ci.lumberton.nc.us

Lumberton is a city in Robeson County, North Carolina, United States. It is the county seat of Robeson County, which is the largest county in the state by land area.

Located in southern North Carolina's Inner Banks region, Lumberton is located on the Lumber River. It was founded in 1787 by John Willis, an officer in the American Revolution. This was developed as a shipping point for lumber used by the Navy, and logs were guided downriver to Georgetown, South Carolina. Most of the town's growth took place after World War II.

History

The City of Lumberton was created by an Act of the North Carolina General Assembly in 1787 and was named the county seat of Robeson County. Lumberton was incorporated in 1859.

Robeson County is located in the Coastal Plains region of southeastern North Carolina. The county was created from Bladen County in 1786 by two American Revolutionary War heroes and residents of the area, General John Willis and Colonel Thomas Robeson. The county was named after Colonel Robeson and the land for the county seat was donated by General Willis, who is also credited with naming the county seat Lumberton.

The area was a frontier destination for both white and numerous free families of color from Virginia in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Many free blacks were descendants of white men and African women, whether slave, free or indentured, from the colonial years when working classes lived and worked near each other. The County has a high proportion of Lumbee, who have been recognized as a Native American tribe by the state of North Carolina but have not been able to receive federal recognition as an Indian tribe by the US Federal government or the B.I.A.

For four seasons, 1947-50, Lumberton fielded a professional minor league baseball team in the Tobacco State League. Affiliated with the Chicago Cubs, the team was known as the Lumberton Cubs in 1947 and '48, and the Lumberton Auctioneers in 1949 and '50.

Established in 1912, the Robeson County Health Department is recognized as the oldest rural health department in the nation. Its current headquarters is on the outskirts of Lumberton.

In 1970, Lumberton was named an All-American City, presented by the National Civic League. It became a two-time winner in 1995 of this award which recognizes those whose citizens work together to identify and tackle community-wide challenges and achieve uncommon results.


David Lynch's film Blue Velvet (1986) was set in Lumberton, though it was filmed about 70 miles (110 km) southeast in Wilmington. This situation raised some problems during filming, so Lynch filmed a small sequence in Lumberton and was subsequently allowed to use the name.

In 2010, the North Carolina Legislature designated Lumberton as THE FIRST Certified Retirement Community in North Carolina. This certification signals that Lumberton offers an unprecedented quality of living and range of amenities, services and opportunities which make it desirable to retirees. This program captured the Governor’s Innovative Small Business Community Award in 2011.

The Baker Sanatorium, Luther Henry Caldwell House, Carolina Theatre, Humphrey-Williams Plantation, Lumberton Commercial Historic District, Planters Building, Robeson County Agricultural Building, Alfred Rowland House, and US Post Office-Lumberton are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

Lumberton is located at 34°37′38″N 79°00′43″W / 34.627239°N 79.011947°W / 34.627239; -79.011947.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.8 square miles (40.9 km2), of which 15.7 square miles (40.7 km2) are land and 0.1 square mile (0.2 km2) (0.44%) is water.

Lumberton is located on the Lumber River in the state's Coastal Plains region. The Lumber River State Park, 115 miles (185 km) of natural and scenic waterway, flows through Lumberton. The river was designated as a National Wild and Scenic River and is part of the North Carolina Natural and Scenic River System. The Lumber River has been classified as natural, scenic and recreational. Recreation includes canoeing and boating, fishing, hunting, picnicking, camping, nature study, swimming, biking, jogging, crafts and fossil and artifact hunting.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1870 615
1880 533 −13.3%
1890 584 9.6%
1900 849 45.4%
1910 2,230 162.7%
1920 2,691 20.7%
1930 4,140 53.8%
1940 5,803 40.2%
1950 9,186 58.3%
1960 15,305 66.6%
1970 16,961 10.8%
1980 18,241 7.5%
1990 18,601 2.0%
2000 20,795 11.8%
2010 21,542 3.6%
2019 (est.) 20,484 −4.9%
U.S. Decennial Census
Lumberton-Laurinburg CSA
Location of the Lumberton-Laurinburg CSA and its components:      Lumberton Micropolitan Statistical Area      Laurinburg Micropolitan Statistical Area

Lumberton is the larger principal city of the Lumberton-Laurinburg CSA, a Combined Statistical Area that includes the Lumberton (Robeson County) and Laurinburg (Scotland County) micropolitan areas, which had a combined population of 159,337 at the 2000 census.

2020 census

Lumberton racial composition
Race Num. Perc.
White (non-Hispanic) 6,657 34.99%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 6,764 35.55%
Native American 2,500 13.14%
Asian 379 1.99%
Pacific Islander 23 0.12%
Other/Mixed 814 4.28%
Hispanic or Latino 1,888 9.92%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 19,025 people, 7,142 households, and 4,536 families residing in the city.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 21,542 people living in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 39.0% White, 36.7% Black, 12.7% Native American, 2.4% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.1% from some other race and 2.2% from two or more races. 6.7% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Education

Public Schools of Robeson County operates public schools.

Notable people

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Lumberton (Carolina del Norte) para niños

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