Editing Scotland County, North Carolina (section)

===Early history===
The earliest residents of the land which became Scotland County were [[Cheraw]] Native Americans. [[Scottish Highlands|Scottish Highlanders]] and some English [[Quakers]] began colonizing the area as early as the 1720s when it was within the British [[Province of North Carolina]].<ref name= martin>{{cite web| url = https://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/scotland-county-1899/| title = Scotland County (1899)| last = Martin| first = Jonathan| website = North Carolina History Project| publisher = John Locke Foundation| access-date = July 21, 2022}}</ref> The land encompassing Scotland County was originally under the jurisdiction of [[Bladen County, North Carolina|Bladen County]]. As North Carolina grew, its original counties were subdivided and the future Scotland portion was placed in the new [[Anson County, North Carolina|Anson County]].{{sfn|Stewart|Stewart|2001|p=7}} The relevant portion was then moved into the new [[Richmond County, North Carolina|Richmond County]] in 1779.{{sfn|Stewart|Stewart|2001|p=7}}<ref>{{cite web| url = https://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/richmond-county-1779/| title = Richmond County (1779)| last = Martin| first = Jonathan| website = North Carolina History Project| publisher = John Locke Foundation| access-date = July 21, 2022}}</ref> Richmond County was bisected by the [[Sandhills (Carolina)|Sandhills]], leaving the eastern portion—of future Scotland—geographically separated from the rest of the county.<ref name= anniversary>{{cite news| title = Scotland County 1906---1916| newspaper = The Laurinburg Exchange| page = 5| date = June 29, 1916| volume = XXXIV| issue = 26| edition = anniversary|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114085864/scotland-county-1906-1916/}}</ref>

More immigrants came after the [[American Revolutionary War]], especially one large group of Highland Scots which came from the [[Cape Fear River]]. The group split and settled two areas in the county, Johns and [[Laurel Hill, Scotland County, North Carolina|Laurel Hill]], the latter in the vicinity of the [[Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church]], established in 1797.{{sfn|Stewart|Stewart|2001|p=7}} Laurel Hill became the first major community in the region, prospering as a post-revolution trading center.{{sfn|Marks|2021|pp=10–11}} More immigrants settled the area at this time, including Germans, Welsh, English, and Ulster Scots. Enslaved Africans were also brought into the area.{{sfn|Stewart|Stewart|2001|p=7}} The Laurel Hill community largely moved south in 1861 after the [[Wilmington Subdivision|Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad]] laid a line through the area.{{sfn|Marks|2021|pp=10–11}} [[Scottish Gaelic|Gaelic]] was spoken in the area through the 1860s.{{sfn|Davis|2008|p=90}}

During the [[American Civil War]], the railroad's shops were moved to [[Laurinburg, North Carolina|Laurinburg]] in the hope they would be safer from [[Union Army]] attack; however, in March 1865, Union forces reached Laurinburg and burned the railroad depot and temporary shops.{{sfn|Barrett|1995|p=300}} The shops were rebuilt after the war,<ref name= john>{{cite news|last=John|first=Maxcy L.| title = Historical Sketch of Laurinburg| newspaper = The Laurinburg Exchange| page = 2| date = June 29, 1916| volume = XXXIV| issue = 26| edition = anniversary|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3530162/the-laurinburg-exchange/}}</ref> though economic recovery was slow.{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|p=5}} Laurinburg was incorporated in 1877.{{sfn|Marks|2021|p=10}} It continued to develop as a railway town until 1894 when the shops were moved.<ref name= mcknightprofile>{{cite news| last = McKnight| first = Bonnie| title = 100 County Countdown: Scotland County| newspaper = The Herald-Sun| page = A10| date = March 22, 2005| url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114985394/scotland-county-profile/}}</ref>