Scotland County, North Carolina: Difference between revisions
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Scotland County is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Its county seat is and largest community is Laurinburg. The county was formed in 1899 from part of Richmond County and named in honor of the Scottish settlers who occupied the area in the 1700s. As of the 2020 census, its population was 34,174.
The area eventually comprising Scotland was originally inhabited by Native Americans and was settled by Europeans as early as the 1720s, though settling heavily increased after the American Revolutionary War. Scotland County was created out of Richmond County in 1899 largely for political reasons. The area began to industrialize at the turn of the 20th century, but suffered heavily during the Great Depression. Industrialization increased again after World War II, as agriculture mechanized. In the 2000s, the county's economy suffered a major downturn due to the departure of textile manufacturers and the Great Recession. The economy continues to struggle in the area and the county regularly suffers from one of the state's highest unemployment rates.
History
[edit]Early history
[edit]The earliest residents of the land which became Scotland County were Cheraw Native Americans. 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>Template:Cite web</ref> The land encompassing Scotland County was originally under the jurisdiction of Bladen County. As North Carolina grew, its original counties were subdivided and the future Scotland portion was placed in the new Anson County.Template:Sfn The relevant portion was then moved into the new Richmond County in 1779.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Richmond County was bisected by the Sandhills, leaving the eastern portion—of future Scotland—geographically separated from the rest of the county.<ref name= anniversary>Template:Cite news</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, the latter in the vicinity of the Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church, established in 1797.Template:Sfn Laurel Hill became the first major community in the region, prospering as a post-revolution trading center.Template:Sfn More immigrants settled the area at this time, including Germans, Welsh, English, and Ulster Scots. Enslaved Africans were also brought into the area.Template:Sfn The Laurel Hill community largely moved south in 1861 after the Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad laid a line through the area.Template:Sfn Gaelic was spoken in the area through the 1860s.Template:Sfn
During the American Civil War, the railroad's shops were moved to 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.Template:Sfn The shops were rebuilt after the war,<ref name= john>Template:Cite news</ref> though economic recovery was slow.Template:Sfn Laurinburg was incorporated in 1877.Template:Sfn It continued to develop as a railway town until 1894 when the shops were moved.<ref name= mcknightprofile>Template:Cite news</ref>
Creation
[edit]By the late 19th century, Richmond County had a majority black population and tended to support the Republican Party in elections, while the state of North Carolina was typically dominated by the Democratic Party. In response to this, white Democrats built up a political base in Laurinburg.<ref name= elder/> Legislator Maxey John introduced several unsuccessful bills in the North Carolina General Assembly to carve out a new county around Laurinburg between 1893 and 1897.<ref name= mcknightprofile/> During the state legislative elections of 1898, Democrats organized intensely in the area to unseat the statewide Fusionist coalition of state Republicans and Populists, including the deployment of paramilitary Red Shirts in Laurinburg to intimidate black residents and other opponents at the polls.Template:Sfn Democrats regained their erstwhile majority in the General Assembly. In tribute to the efforts of Democrats in Laurinburg, on February 20, 1899, the assembly split off the town and the surrounding area from Richmond County and created the new Scotland County,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn named in homage to the Scottish settlers.Template:Sfn Laurinburg was designated the county seat.<ref name= mcknightprofile/>
The creation of Scotland County took official effect on December 10, 1900.Template:Sfn The first courthouse was erected in Laurinburg the following year.<ref name="History"/> At its creation, the county was socially and politically dominated by its resident white planter class and businessmen.Template:Sfn No black citizens were allowed to register to vote again until 1928.Template:Sfn The county's first cotton mill was built in 1899. In subsequent years, additional textile mills were established, as was a cotton oil mill—the largest in the state at the time, a flour mill, and a fertilizer plant.Template:Sfn A county road law was passed by the state in 1903, leading the county to construct its first improved roads of sand and clay. Another road law passed six years later led the county to greatly increase its road building program and erect its first concrete bridges.<ref name= anniversary/>
Great Depression
[edit]Scotland's black population increased in the 1910s and early 1920s as tenant cotton farmers moved north from the Deep South to escape areas infested by the boll weevil.Template:Sfn County cotton production peaked in 1920 as farmers diversified their operations and began growing fruits and melons.Template:Sfn Cotton nevertheless remained the dominant crop through the 1920s despite stagnating prices.Template:Sfn The area suffered heavily during the Great Depression, as two banks in Laurinburg failed and a state report indicated that one fourth of the local population was destitute.Template:Sfn Many smallholding farmers lost their lands in foreclosures and bankruptcies. The county nonwhite population dropped, and urbanization increased as people relocated to towns.Template:Sfn In May 1934, 500 workers at textile mills in East Laurinburg went on strike in protest of work conditions and living conditions in their company-provided housing. The strike gained state-wide media attention after the strikers engaged in a brawl with loyalist workers, with nine people wounded by gunfire, before the dispute was resolved by arbitration.Template:Sfn The United States Resettlement Administration purchased much of the low-quality land in the Sandhills portion of the county and turned it into a recreational area. The federal Agricultural Adjustment Act and Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act of 1936 incentivized landowners to reduce production, and as a result, many local tenant farmers and sharecroppers were put out of work and migrated north in search of employment.Template:Sfn
World War II and aftermath
[edit]During World War II, the United States government established Camp Mackall in the Sandhills portion of Scotland County to train paratroopersTemplate:Sfn and the Laurinburg–Maxton Army Air Base in the east to train glider pilots.Template:Sfn The latter facility was used to train about 30,000 personnel.Template:Sfn Many local residents worked in civilian capacities at the Laurinburg–Maxton base, which provided them with a secure source of income.Template:Sfn It closed in October 1945 and was turned into a civilian airport.<ref>Template:Cite web</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;Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn
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.Template:Sfn A new courthouse was built in 1964.<ref name="History">Template:Cite web</ref> The county and Laurinburg school system were merged and racially integrated in the late 1960s.Template:Sfn
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>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2018, the county was heavily impacted by Hurricane Florence.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Geography and physical features
[edit]Located within the southeastern portion of the state of North Carolina,Template:Sfn Scotland County rests at the border between the Coastal Plain and Piedmont regions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is bordered by Hoke, Moore, Robeson, and Richmond counties,Template:Sfn and Marlboro County in the state of South Carolina.<ref name= censusprofile/> According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (0.46%) is water.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is the smallest North Carolina county by area.<ref name="elder">Template:Cite news</ref> The elevation above sea level is Template:Convert.<ref name= scotlaurchamber>Template:Cite web</ref>
Scotland is one of the state's ten counties within the Sandhills region.<ref name= augillard>Template:Cite web</ref> The hills mostly populate the northern section of the county, with rest being largely flat.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Geologically, most of the soil in Scotland consists of sand, sandstone, and mudstone, with the sandiest soils in the Sandhills.Template:Sfn The extreme western portion of the county is in the Pee Dee River drainage basin, while the rest is in the Lumber River basin. The Lumber forms the eastern boundary of the county. Several smaller tributary watercourses, including Big Shoe Heel Creek, Juniper Creek, Jordan Creek, Leith Creek, Gum Swamp Creek, and Joes Creek, flow across the area and into the LumberTemplate:Sfn and Little Pee Dee rivers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Most such streams are blackwater and flow southward or southeastward.Template:Sfn The county is also populated by several hundred Carolina bays, most of which are concentrated in the northeast, east, and just south of Laurinburg. Some of these form seasonal ponds, and there are several other manmade bodies of water including millponds.Template:Sfn
The region generally experiences mild winters and hot summers.Template:Sfn The average mean temperature in January is Template:Convert while the mean in July is Template:Convert. The county on average sees about Template:Convert of rainfall per year.<ref name= scotlaurchamber/> Native trees include loblolly pine, sweetgum, red maple, and water oak.Template:Sfn Longleaf pine grows in the Sandhills Game Land, a state nature preserve which covers part of Scotland County.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Sandhills region is also populated by fox squirrels. Other fauna in the county include Carolina gopher frogs, eastern tiger salamanders, and loggerhead shrikes.Template:Sfn Portions of the Lumber River State Park are also in the county.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Demographics
[edit]2020 census
[edit]As of the 2020 census, there were 34,174 people residing in the county. Racially, 14,402 county residents identified as white, 13,162 identified as black or African American, 3,745 identified as American Indian, 343 identified as Asian, 15 identified as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 718 identified as other, and 1,789 identified as two or more races.<ref name=2020censusrace>Template:Cite web</ref> Of the total among the races, 1,106 people identified as Hispanic or Latino.<ref name= 2020censushispanic>Template:Cite web</ref> Scotland proportionately has the third-largest Native American population of any North Carolina county at 14 percent.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Laurinburg recorded 15,024 residents.<ref name=vincentcensus/>
Scotland County is included in the Fayetteville-Lumberton-Pinehurst, NC Combined Statistical Area.<ref name="2023OMB">Template:Cite web</ref>
Demographic change
[edit]Historical population |
Template:US Census population |
Scotland County has long had significant white, black, and Lumbee Indian populations. The Hispanic population grew in the early 21st century.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> From 2010 to 2020, Scotland County's population declined from 36,157 to 34,174, a decrease of about five percent.<ref name=vincentcensus>Template:Cite news</ref> The proportion of county residents under the age of 18 dropped by 19.2 percent.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> According to the American Community Survey, from 2017 to 2021 there were an estimated 12,214 households in the county with an average of 2.65 persons per household.<ref name="2020CensusQuickFacts"/> The North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management projects a 6.7 percent population decline in the county between 2020 and 2030.<ref name= rappaportweaver/> The North Carolina Rural Center reported a 0.25 percent increase in the county's population between 2020 and 2023.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Law and government
[edit]Government
[edit]Scotland County is governed by a county commission. The commission is funded by a two percent share of local sales tax revenue and the local property tax.<ref name= elder/> The county charges the highest property tax rate in the state, 0.99 percent.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A third of the county's land is owned by the United States Forestry Service and the United States Armed Forces, from whom no tax revenue is collected.<ref name= elder/> The armed forces operate the Luzon Drop Zone military airfield<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Camp Mackall in the county (the latter only partially).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Scotland County is a member of the Lumber River Council of Governments, a regional planning board representing five counties.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It is located entirely in North Carolina's 9th congressional district<ref name= Nagem1>Template:Cite news</ref> and is also included in the North Carolina Senate's 24th district and the North Carolina House of Representatives' 48th district.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It is one of the four counties within the jurisdiction of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, and tribal members within the county elect some members of the tribal council.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Scotland County lies within the bounds of North Carolina's 21st Prosecutorial District, the 16A Superior Court District, and the 16A District Court District.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> County voters elect a sheriff. The sheriff's office provides law enforcement in the unincorporated areas of the county, maintains the Scotland County Detention Center, and provides security at the Scotland County Courthouse.<ref name= scso>Template:Cite web</ref>
Politics
[edit]As of 2024, 45 percent of registered voters in Scotland County are Democrats, 21 percent are registered Republicans and 32 percent are unaffiliated.<ref name= rappaportweaver>Template:Cite news</ref> While the county has historically voted for Democratic candidates, in recent years it has become a swing county.<ref name= charlotteobserver/>Template:Sfn Like other areas in the region, the county's voting patterns have trended more favorably to Republicans.<ref name= rappaport1/> Democratic voter registration shares declined from 58 percent of the county's registered voters in 2016 to 48 percent in 2022, while Republican and unaffiliated voter registration rates increased.<ref name= charlotteobserver>Template:Cite news</ref> Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton won the county in 2008, 2012, and 2016. In 2020, both Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Roy Cooper secured a majority of its votes.<ref name= rappaport1>Template:Cite news</ref> In the 2024 elections, Republican presidential nominee Trump and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Josh Stein both won the county,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> while Republicans won a majority of the seats on the county commission.<ref name= rappaport2/>
Economy
[edit]Scotland County's economy is largely based in agriculture. Area farmers mostly grow corn, cotton, tobacco, and soybeans, and raise hogs. Forestry products including lumber and paper are also sourced in the county.<ref name= martin/> Manufacturing firms increased in the county after 1950.Template:Sfn The local manufacturing industry produces textiles, cabinet accessories, mobile homes, hospital equipment,<ref name= martin/> and automotive parts.<ref name= nguyen>Template:Cite news</ref> Following a national trend, manufacturing—especially in textiles—has declined since 2000, damaging the economy of the county.<ref name= elder/><ref name= frosch>Template:Cite news</ref> In the early 2020s retail grew along the U.S. Route 74 corridor.<ref name= nguyen/> As of 2023, health care/social assistance, education, public administration, and manufacturing are the five highest-employing sectors in the county.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In its 2024 county economic tier ratings, the North Carolina Department of Commerce classified Scotland as the state's second-most economically distressed county.<ref name= skinner>Template:Cite web</ref> It has long suffered from one of North Carolina's highest unemployment rates,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name= nagemlaurinburg>Template:Cite news</ref> with it having the highest rate at 5.6% in September 2024.<ref name= rappaport2>Template:Cite news</ref> According to the American Community Survey, from 2017 to 2021 the estimated median household income was $39,866.<ref name="2020CensusQuickFacts"/> The child poverty rate is 46 percent.<ref name=nagemhealth>Template:Cite news</ref>
Transportation
[edit]Scotland County will be served in the future by the two Interstate Highways of Interstate 73, planned to cross the county border for a short distance in the southwest;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite map</ref> and Interstate 74, currently designated in the county as Future I-74.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="scocotrans">Template:Cite web</ref> The current highways serving the county are U.S. Route 15 (Bus.),<ref name="scocotrans"/>Template:Sfn US 74 (Bus.),<ref name="nguyen"/> US 401 (Bus.),<ref name="scocotrans"/><ref name="division8"/> US 501,<ref name="scocotrans"/> North Carolina Highway 71,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> NC 79,Template:Sfn NC 44,<ref name="division8">Template:Cite web</ref> and NC 381.Template:Sfn County government supports a public transport bus service, the Scotland County Area Transit System.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Airplane facilities are provided by the Laurinburg–Maxton Airport.<ref name= nguyen/> Local railways are operated by CSX Transportation and the Laurinburg and Southern Railroad.Template:Sfn The longest straight stretch of railroad track in the United States, spanning 78.86 miles, connects Wilmington to the east with the Scotland community of Old Hundred.Template:Sfn
Education
[edit]Scotland County Schools operates public schools in the area. As of 2023, the system operates 10 schools and serves 5,592 students.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The district was classified by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction as low-performing in 2021,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but its rank improved past low-performing status in 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county hosts a satellite campus of the Richmond Community College and the now defunct St. Andrews University, a private liberal arts school.<ref name= nguyen/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to the 2021 American Community Survey, an estimated 15.3 percent of county residents have attained a bachelor's degree or higher level of education.<ref name= censusprofile>Template:Cite web</ref>
Healthcare
[edit]Scotland County is served by a single hospital, Scotland Health Care System, based in Laurinburg.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> According to the 2022 County Health Rankings produced by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, Scotland County ranked 98th in health outcomes of North Carolina's 100 counties. Per the ranking, 28 percent of adults say they are in poor or fair health, the average life expectancy is 73 years, and 14 percent of people under the age of 65 lack health insurance.<ref name=nagemhealth/>
Culture
[edit]Many surnames, streets, and places in Scotland County reflect Scottish origins.Template:Sfn Since 2008, the county has hosted an annual Scotland County Highland Games festival in homage to the heavy Scottish ancestry of its population.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Scotland County High School's sports teams are called the Fighting Scots and the school marching band wears traditional Scottish garb, including kilts, sporrans, plaid shawls, and Glengarry bonnets.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The county also hosts an annual Kuumba festival to celebrate African American heritage.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Several area buildings and sites have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Religion is a key part of local public life.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Fishing is a popular recreational activity.Template:Sfn
Communities
[edit]City
[edit]- Laurinburg (county seat and largest community)<ref name= communities/>
Towns
[edit]- Gibson<ref name= communities>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Maxton (partially)<ref name= communities/>
- Wagram<ref name= communities/>
Townships
[edit]- Laurel HillTemplate:Sfn
- Spring HillTemplate:Sfn
- StewartsvilleTemplate:Sfn
- WilliamsonTemplate:Sfn
Census-designated places
[edit]- Deercroft<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Laurel Hill<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Old Hundred<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Scotch Meadows<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Unincorporated communities
[edit]- East Laurinburg<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Montclair<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
[edit]References
[edit]Works cited
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External links
[edit]Template:Geographic Location Template:Scotland County, North Carolina Template:North Carolina Template:Authority control