Editing Scotland County, North Carolina (section)

===World War II and aftermath===
During [[World War II]], the United States government established [[Camp Mackall]] in the Sandhills portion of Scotland County to train paratroopers{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|p=64}} and the [[Laurinburg–Maxton Army Air Base]] in the east to train glider pilots.{{sfn|Stewart|Stewart|2001|p=18}} The latter facility was used to train about 30,000 personnel.{{sfn|Marks|2021|p=60}} Many local residents worked in civilian capacities at the Laurinburg–Maxton base, which provided them with a secure source of income.{{sfn|Stewart|Stewart|2001|p=18}} It closed in October 1945 and was turned into a civilian airport.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.ncpedia.org/laurinburg-maxton-army-air-base| title = Laurinburg-Maxton Army Air Base| last = Linville| first = Ray| date = 2019| website = NCPedia| publisher = North Carolina Government & Heritage Library| access-date = December 19, 2022}}</ref> Mechanization of agriculture in the 1950s led to depopulation in rural areas, as former farm laborers moved to Laurinburg, Wagram, and outside the county in search of new jobs;{{sfn|Marks|2021|pp=12–13}} from 1950 to 1960, the population decreased by over 1,100 people. Much agricultural land was retired through the [[Soil Bank Program]], and tenant farming and sharecropping rapidly declined. Agriculture continued to mechanize and consolidate into the 1970s.{{sfn|Marks|2021|pp=59–60}}

Faced with the decline in agricultural employment, county leaders in the postwar era appealed for state and federal grants to improve local infrastructure and attract outside industry. Funds were acquired to build low-income housing, pave roads, and support the creation of a new hospital. The first outsider-owned manufacturing plant began operations in Scotland in 1959.{{sfn|Marks|2021|p=60}} A new courthouse was built in 1964.<ref name="History">{{cite web | last =  Myers | first = Betty P. | title = History | publisher = City of Laurinburg, NC | url = http://www.laurinburg.org/history | access-date = July 27, 2017}}</ref> The county and Laurinburg school system were merged and racially integrated in the late 1960s.{{sfn|Marks|2021|pp=61, 70}}

In the 2000s, the county's economy suffered a major downturn due to the departure of textile manufacturers. The [[Great Recession]] led to the closure and shrinking of other manufacturing businesses, leading its employment rate to peak at 18.6 percent in July 2011.<ref name= ranii>{{cite news| last = Ranii| first = David| title = Recruiting industry is Scotland's goal| newspaper = The News & Observer| pages = 1A, 6A| volume = 151| issue = 214| edition = Sunday| date = August 2, 2015| url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114979445/scotland-county-industrial-recruitment-2/}}</ref> In 2018, the county was heavily impacted by [[Hurricane Florence]].<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.wral.com/fatal-flood-waters-wash-away-chunks-of-downtown-laurinburg/17851020/| title = Fatal flood waters wash away chunks of downtown Laurinburg| last = Heffernan| first = Sloane| date = September 21, 2018| website = WRAL-TV| publisher = Capitol Broadcasting Company| access-date = December 21, 2022}}</ref>