Robeson County, North Carolina facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Robeson County
U.S. county
Robeson County Courthouse and Confederate Monument in Lumberton
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of North Carolina
North Carolina's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
Founded	1787
Named for	Thomas Robeson
Seat	Lumberton
Largest community	Lumberton
Area
• Total	949.26 sq mi (2,458.6 km2)
• Land	947.30 sq mi (2,453.5 km2)
• Water	1.96 sq mi (5.1 km2)  0.21%
Population  (2020)
• Total	116,530
• Estimate  (2023)	117,365
• Density	123.01/sq mi (47.49/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	7th

Robeson County (/ˈrɒbɪsən/ rob-IH-sun) is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of North Carolina and is its largest county by land area. Its county seat and largest community is Lumberton. The county was formed in 1787 from part of Bladen County and named in honor of Thomas Robeson, a colonel who had led Patriot 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 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-Pinehurst, NC Combined Statistical Area. The state-recognized Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina 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, 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 formed a key part of the early economy. The proliferation of the cotton gin and rising demand for cotton led Robeson County to become one of the state's major cotton-producing counties throughout much of the 1800s. The Lowry War was fought between a group of mostly-Native American outlaws and local authorities during the latter stages of the American Civil War and through the Reconstruction era. 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 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

The Lumber River as seen from the boat launch at Princess Ann near Orrum.

A railroad crossing and old general store in Rex

A view of St. Pauls

Archaeological excavation performed in Robeson County reveals widespread, continuous occupation of the region by various cultures of indigenous peoples since the end of the last Ice Age. They had camps and settlements near the Lumber River for its water, transportation, fish and related wildlife resources. Local excavations reveal that Native American peoples made stone tools, using materials brought to present-day Robeson County from the Carolina Piedmont. The large amounts of ancient pottery found at some Robeson County sites have been dated to the early Archaic Woodland period. Materials show that local settlements were part of an extensive Native American trade network with other regions. Portions of the river basin show that Robeson County was a "zone of cultural interactions."

Swamps, streams, and artesian wells provided an excellent supply of water for Native peoples. Fish were plentiful, and the region's lush vegetation included numerous food crops. "Carolina bays" continue to dot the landscape. Numerous 10,000-year-old Clovis points found along their banks indicate indigenous peoples used these depressions as campsites.

After colonial contact, European-made items, such as kaolin tobacco pipes, were traded by the Spanish, French, and English to Native American peoples of the coastal region. The coastal peoples traded with those further inland. Remnants of European goods have been dated prior to permanent European settlements along the Lumber River.

Colonial era

Early written sources specific to the Robeson County region are few for the post-contact period of European colonization. In 1725, surveyors for the Wineau factory charted a village of Waccamaw Indians on the Lumber River, a few miles west of where Pembroke has developed. In 1773, a North Carolina Governor Arthur Dobbs proclamation related to a report from his agent, Col. Rutherford, head of a Bladen County militia, that a "mixed crew" of 50 families were living along Drowning Creek. They were referred to as "mullatos," generally meaning people of African and European descent.

Bladen County encompassed a portion of what is today Robeson County. English colonials named the river "Drowning Creek". After the violent upheavals of the Yamasee War of 1715-1717, and the Tuscarora War of 1711-1715, families of Algonquian Waccamaw left South Carolina Colony in 1718. They may have established a village west of present-day Pembroke, North Carolina by 1725. The Iroquoian-speaking Tuscarora migrated north as a tribe, settling in New York and becoming the sixth nation of the Iroquois Confederacy.

The anthropologist John R. Swanton of the Smithsonian Institution tried to identify the origin of the ethnic group known as Croatan Indians since the late 19th century. Swanton posited that the multi-racial people were the descendants of Siouan-speaking peoples, of which the most prominent in the area were the Cheraw and Keyauwee. Some of his theories have been superseded by more recent evidence. This ethnic group now identifies as the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and has state recognition.

The Lumbee oral tradition says that they developed from Native American descendants, including refugees of other tribes, such as Tuscarora. They emerged as a people in the early 19th century through a process of ethnogenesis.

Beginning in the mid-eighteenth century, many migrants from Virginia entered the frontier area. By the late eighteenth century, settlement patterns shifted. The name of the region's river was changed. After the American Revolution, the state used a lottery to dispose of lots with which to establish Lumberton. The town was incorporated in 1788, and John Willis proposed the name "Lumberton", after the important lumber and naval stores industry. This dominated the otherwise agricultural economy of Robeson County throughout the nineteenth century.

Lumberton developed at a section known throughout that century as "Drowning Creek," a term still used for the headwater portions of the river. The first Robeson County courthouse was erected on land which formed a part of the Red Bluff Plantation, owned by Lumberton founder John Willis. Robeson County's post office was established in 1794. In 1809, the state legislature renamed Drowning Creek as the Lumber River, after the area's major industry.

In the 1790-1810 censuses, descendants of these families were classified as both white (European American) and free people of color, which included people of African and Native American descent, as well as African-European. The settlers held few slaves.

Late 20th-century researchers have traced 80 percent of the free people of color in North Carolina listed in those two decades of censuses to African American families who were free in Virginia in colonial times. Based on court records, land deeds, indentures and other material, Paul Heinegg found that the free people of color (mixed-race) were descended mostly from white women (which is what gave them free status so early) and men who were African or African American in unions of the colonial years. In addition, some African male slaves had been freed in Virginia as early as the mid-17th century. Together with free white women, they founded free families of several generations before migrating to other areas. In the early years of the southern colonies, working-class whites and Africans lived and worked closely together, marrying and forming unions. Many free people of color migrated to frontier areas to gain relief from the racial strictures of the coastal plantation areas.

In the nineteenth century, other settlers often referred to mixed-race people as Indian, Portuguese or Arab, in attempts to classify them to account for physical differences from northern Europeans. These people sometimes identified as Indian to escape the racial segregation associated with descendants of Africans. Some may have descended from Atlantic Creoles, men of mixed African-Portuguese ancestry identified by the historian Ira Berlin as part of the charter generation of slaves, but most were descendants of English white women and African men in the British colonies. Some likely intermarried with remnants of Indian tribes who remained in the area. Names on early land deeds and other historic documents in Robeson County correspond to many of the families of free people of color, including ancestors of contemporary Lumbee. Settlements included Prospect and Red Banks.

Nineteenth century

By the beginning of the American Civil War, many remnant Native Americans in the Upper South struggled to survive and their status continued to decline. Since 1790, Native Americans in the southern states were enumerated as "free persons of color" on the local and federal census, included with free African Americans.

By 1835, in the wake of Nat Turner's Slave Rebellion of 1831, North Carolina like other southern states reduced the rights of free people of color. Out of fear of slave rebellion aided by free blacks, the legislature withdrew the rights of free people of color to vote, serve on juries, own and use firearms, and learn to read and write. During the 1830s, the federal government forced Indian Removal, relocating the Cherokee and other of the Five Civilized Tribes of the lower Southeast to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. Native Americans who stayed in the Southeast tended to live in frontier and marginal areas to avoid white supervision.

Civil War

Maxton

North Carolina seceded from the Union in 1861. A major yellow fever epidemic in 1862 killed 10 percent of the Cape Fear region's population. Most white men of military age had either enlisted with the Confederacy or fled the region. The Confederate Army conscripted African-American slaves as workers to build a system of forts to defend Fort Fisher, near Wilmington, North Carolina. Such conscription affected the free people of color of Robeson County, too.

Robeson County's home guard, which included county magistrates, clergymen, and lawyers, who mainly represented the interests of the planter class (large slaveholders were exempted from participation in the army), had raided the farmstead of Allen Lowrie, Henry Berry Lowrie's father. In the confrontation, they killed Allen and another son William. Henry Lowrie swore revenge.

Late in the Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman and his army began to push their way toward Robeson County as they headed north. After hearing of the Union Army's burning of Columbia, South Carolina on February 17, 1865, residents of Robeson County worried about the troops' advance. Washington Chaffin, a Methodist minister in Lumberton speculated in his diary about how the county might be treated by Sherman and his Yankees. Chaffin noted that Henry Berry Lowrie and his gang were "doing much mischief in this country." Lowrie's gang had "torn up and destroyed" white homesteads. In the late stages of the war, gangs and insurgents carried out private feuds.

During the next seven years, Henry Lowrie led a group of free people of color, poor whites and blacks in one of many postwar insurgent movements during years of social disruption. He campaigned against the white elite. His activities made him a folk hero to many of the poorer folk.

Twentieth century

Until late in the 20th century, Robeson County was a center of Ku Klux Klan activity and support in North Carolina. On January 18, 1958, armed Lumbee chased off an estimated 50 Klansmen and supporters led by grand wizard James W. "Catfish" Cole at the town of Maxton in the Battle of Hayes Pond.

Geography and physical features

Shoe Heel Creek, south of Maxton

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 949.26 square miles (2,458.6 km²), of which 947.30 square miles (2,453.5 km²) is land and 1.96 square miles (5.1 km²) (0.21%) is water. 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 North Carolina counties of Bladen, Columbus, Cumberland, Hoke, and Scotland, and the South Carolina counties of Dillon, Horry, and Marlboro.

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 loams. It has a temperate climate and rarely experiences snowfall. The county hosts many pocosins, bald cypress forests, Carolina bays, 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 are located in Robeson, as is the entirety of the Warwick Mill Bay State Natural Area. The two state game lands in the county are Bullard and Branch Hunting Preserve and Robeson Game Land.

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. Plant life supported by the river includes bald cypress, gum, poplar, loblolly-bay, and juniper trees. Ferns, Virginia creeper, Spanish moss, pitcher plants, Venus flytraps, also reside along the river and its tributaries.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 116,530 people, 46,272 households, and 30,034 families residing in the county.

Demographic change

Robeson County experienced a loss of 17,638 people between 2010 and 2020, a decline of 13.1 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. The North Carolina Rural Center reported a 0.91 percent increase in the county's population between 2020 and 2023.

Economy

A cotton field near Rex

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 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 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. Health care/social assistance, manufacturing, retail, education, and accommodation/food service are the largest-employing sectors in Robeson County. According to the 2022 American Community Survey one-year estimate, the median household income was $38,610. As of 2023, 28 percent of local residents are impoverished, making Robeson one of the poorest counties in the state. In its 2024 county economic tier ratings, the North Carolina Department of Commerce classified Robeson as tied with two other counties for the third-most economically distressed county in the state.

Transportation

Robeson County is served by Interstate 95, which travels north–south through the county; and Interstate 74 (incomplete), which travels east–west. The two routes intersect to the southwest of Lumberton. It is also served by U.S. Route 74 (Alt.) (Bus.), US 301, US 501, and North Carolina Highways 20, 41, 71, 72, 83, 130 (Bus.), 211, 295 (to be I-295), 710, 711, and 904. County government supports a public transport bus service, the South East Area Transit System. Airplane facilities are provided by the Lumberton Municipal Airport 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. The longest straight stretch of railroad track in the United States, spanning 78.86 miles, passes through Robeson.

Education

W.H. Knuckles Elementary School in Lumberton

The Public Schools of Robeson County (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 2022 American Community Survey, an estimated 16.4 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 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 is 72 years—six years lower than the state average, and 19 percent of people under the age of 65 lack health insurance. .....

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—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.

Communities

Map of Robeson County, North Carolina With Municipal and Township Labels

City

• Lumberton

Towns

Townships

Census-designated places

The abandoned corner grocery in downtown Parkton.

• Barker Ten Mile
• Elrod
• Prospect
• Raemon
• Rex
• Shannon
• Wakulla

Unincorporated communities

• Bloomington
• Five Forks
• Red Banks

Notable people

• Henry Berry Lowry (1845–c. 1872), outlaw who disappeared
• Rhoda Strong Lowry (1849–1909), wife of Henry
• Angus Wilton McLean (1870–1935), Governor of North Carolina from 1924 to 1928
• Francis M. Wishart (1837–1872), military officer

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Robeson para niños