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Scotland County is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,174.[1] Its county seat is Laurinburg.[2]

Scotland County
U.S. county
County of Scotland
The historic E. Hervey Evans House, also known as Thomas Walton Manor, located at Laurinburg
Flag Seal Logo
Motto:  "Future Focused"
Location within the U.S. state of North Carolina
North Carolina's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 34°50′N 79°29′W
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
Founded	February 16, 1899
Named for	Scotland
Seat	Laurinburg
Largest city	Laurinburg
Area
• Total	320 sq mi (800 km2)
• Land	319 sq mi (830 km2)
• Water	1.5 sq mi (4 km2)  0.5%
Population  (2020)
• Total	34,174
• Density	110/sq mi (41/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	9th
Website	www.scotlandcounty.org

Scotland County comprises the Laurinburg, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Fayetteville-Lumberton-Laurinburg, NC Combined Statistical Area.

The county was founded in 1899 from the southeastern part of Richmond County. The county name documents the strong historic and cultural influence from the early settlers from Scotland.

History

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.[3] 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.[4] The relevant portion was then moved into the new Richmond County in 1779.[4][5] Richmond County was bisected by the Sandhills, leaving the eastern portion of future Scotland geographically separated from the rest of the county.[6]

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.[4] Laurel Hill became the first major community in the region, prospering as a post-revolution trading center.[7] More immigrants settled the area at this time, including Germans, Welsh, English, and Ulster Scots. Enslaved Africans were also brought into the area.[4] The Laurel Hill community largely moved south in 1861 after the Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad laid a line through the area.[7] Laurinburg was incorporated in 1877.[8]

By the late 1800s Richmond County had a majority black population and tended to support the Republican Party in elections, while the state of North Carolina was dominated by the Democratic Party. As a result of this, white Democrats built up a political base in Laurinburg and on February 20, 1899, the town and the surrounding area was split off from Richmond into the new Scotland County,[9][10] named in homage to the Scottish settlers.[11] Laurinburg was declared the seat of Scotland County in 1900[12] and the first courthouse was erected the following year.[13] 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.[6] A new courthouse was built in 1964.[13]

Geography

Located within the southeastern portion of the state of North Carolina,[11] Scotland County rests at the border between the Coastal Plain and Piedmont regions.[14] It is bordered by Hoke, Robeson, Richmond, and Moore counties, and the state of South Carolina.[11] According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 320 square miles (830 km²), of which 319 square miles (830 km²) is land and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km²) (0.5%) is water.[15] It is the smallest North Carolina county by area.[9]

State and local protected areas

• Lumber River State Park (part)
• Sandhills Game Land (part)[16]

Major water bodies

• Gum Swamp Creek
• Joes Creek
• Jorden Creek
• Leith Creek
• Lower Beaverdam Creek
• Lumber River
• McNeil Pond
• Richmond Mill Lake
• Shoe Heel Creek

Major highways

• 
  Future I-74 (Concurrency with US 74)
• US 15
• 
  US 15 Bus.
• US 74[17]
• US 401
• 
  US 401 Bus.
• US 501
• NC 71
• NC 79
• NC 144
• NC 381

Major infrastructure

• Laurinburg–Maxton Airport[17] (Also home to the Charlotte Aircraft Corporation)
• Luzon Drop Zone, Military airfield.
• Mackall Army Air Field (MAAF), Military base mostly located in Richmond County.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	12,553		—
1910	15,363		22.4%
1920	15,600		1.5%
1930	20,174		29.3%
1940	23,232		15.2%
1950	26,336		13.4%
1960	25,183		−4.4%
1970	26,929		6.9%
1980	32,273		19.8%
1990	33,754		4.6%
2000	35,998		6.6%
2010	36,157		0.4%
2020	34,174		−5.5%
2021 (est.)	34,227	[18]	0.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[19] 1790-1960[20] 1900-1990[21] 1990-2000[22] 2010-2013[23] 2020[24]

2020 census

Scotland County racial composition[25]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	14,247	41.69%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	13,094	38.32%
Native American	3,705	10.84%
Asian	339	0.99%
Pacific Islander	15	0.04%
Other/Mixed	1,668	4.88%
Hispanic or Latino	1,106	3.24%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 34,174 people, 12,922 households, and 8,593 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the census[26] of 2000, there were 35,998 people, 13,399 households, and 9,674 families residing in the county. The population density was 113 people per square mile (44/km²). There were 14,693 housing units at an average density of 46 per square mile (18/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 51.49% White, 37.32% Black or African American, 8.88% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from other races, and 1.33% from two or more races. 1.18% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

In 2005 49.4% of Scotland County's population was non-Hispanic whites.

In 2000 there were 13,399 households, out of which 34.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.10% were married couples living together, 20.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.80% were non-families. 24.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.10% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 27.60% from 25 to 44, 23.40% from 45 to 64, and 11.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 88.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,010, and the median income for a family was $39,178. Males had a median income of $31,212 versus $23,172 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,693. About 17.40% of families and 20.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.80% of those under age 18 and 17.20% of those age 65 or over.

Law and government

Scotland County is governed by a county commission. The commission is funded by a 2% share of local sales tax revenue and the local property tax.[9] The county charges the highest property tax rate in the state, 0.99 percent.[27] 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.[9]

Scotland County is a member of the Lumber River Council of Governments, a regional planning board representing five counties.[28]

Politics

Scotland County is located entirely in North Carolina's 9th congressional district.[29] It is represented in the 116th United States Congress by Dan Bishop (R). The county has only voted for 3 Republican presidential candidates since 1900: Richard Nixon in 1972, Ronald Reagan in 1984, and Donald Trump in 2020. It was the only county in North Carolina to flip from Democratic to Republican between 2016 and 2020.^{[citation needed]} As of 2022, it is home to about 20,600 registered voters, of whom 10,000 are registered Democrats, 4,200 are registered Republicans and 6,300 are unaffiliated.[29]

United States presidential election results for Scotland County, North Carolina[30]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	7,473	50.58%	7,186	48.64%	116	0.79%
2016	6,256	44.92%	7,319	52.55%	353	2.53%
2012	5,831	41.19%	8,215	58.03%	110	0.78%
2008	6,005	42.24%	8,151	57.33%	61	0.43%
2004	5,141	44.52%	6,386	55.30%	20	0.17%
2000	3,740	39.77%	5,627	59.84%	36	0.38%
1996	2,858	34.44%	4,870	58.68%	571	6.88%
1992	2,980	31.84%	5,175	55.29%	1,205	12.87%
1988	3,199	45.16%	3,865	54.56%	20	0.28%
1984	4,077	50.23%	4,028	49.62%	12	0.15%
1980	2,133	31.45%	4,446	65.56%	203	2.99%
1976	1,932	30.26%	4,430	69.39%	22	0.34%
1972	3,485	63.69%	1,938	35.42%	49	0.90%
1968	1,717	28.69%	2,252	37.63%	2,016	33.68%
1964	1,229	24.23%	3,844	75.77%	0	0.00%
1960	1,279	25.99%	3,643	74.01%	0	0.00%
1956	1,171	27.79%	3,042	72.21%	0	0.00%
1952	1,590	35.32%	2,912	64.68%	0	0.00%
1948	359	12.74%	1,957	69.42%	503	17.84%
1944	303	11.33%	2,372	88.67%	0	0.00%
1940	250	7.74%	2,981	92.26%	0	0.00%
1936	314	8.98%	3,183	91.02%	0	0.00%
1932	208	7.37%	2,608	92.42%	6	0.21%
1928	588	25.03%	1,761	74.97%	0	0.00%
1924	205	12.17%	1,469	87.18%	11	0.65%
1920	306	15.22%	1,705	84.78%	0	0.00%
1916	137	12.74%	938	87.26%	0	0.00%
1912	9	1.08%	751	89.94%	75	8.98%

Economy

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.[3] Manufacturing firms increased in the county after 1950.[4] The local manufacturing industry produces textiles, cabinet accessories, mobile homes, hospital equipment,[3] and automotive parts.[17] Following a national trend, manufacturing—especially in textiles—has declined since 2000, damaging the economy of the county.[9] In the early 2020s retail grew along the U.S. Route 74 corridor.[17] The North Carolina Department of Commerce classifies Scotland as one of the state's most economically distressed counties.[31]

Tourism

Primary tourism draws include:[32]

• Festivals (Scotland County Highland Games, Storytelling Festival of Carolinas, John Blue Festival)
• Historical sites (John Blue House (Laurinburg, North Carolina), Old Laurel Hill Church)
• Museums and heritage (Scotland County Museum, Indian Museum, Scottish Heritage Center)
• The outdoors (Cypress Bend Vineyards, St. Andrews Equestrian Center, Chalk Banks, Lumber River), and
• The local college: St. Andrews University.

Communities

City

• Laurinburg (county seat and largest city)

Towns

• Gibson
• Maxton
• Wagram

Census-designated places

• Deercroft
• Laurel Hill
• Old Hundred
• Scotch Meadows

Other unincorporated communities

• East Laurinburg
• Montclair

Townships

• Laurel Hill[11]
• Spring Hill[11]
• Stewartsville[11]
• Williamson[11]

See also

• List of counties in North Carolina
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Scotland County, North Carolina
• North Carolina State Parks
• List of future Interstate Highways
• Sandhills (Carolina), region in south North Carolina.
• Lumbee, State-recognized tribe that mostly lives in Scotland and Robeson County.

References

Bibliography

• Covington, Howard E., Jr; Ellis, Marion A. (1999). Terry Sanford: Politics, Progress, and Outrageous Ambitions. Durham: Duke University Press. ISBN 9780822323563.
• Marks, Stuart A. (2021). Southern Hunting in Black and White: Nature, History, and Ritual in a Carolina Community. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691226866.
• Powell, William S. (1976). The North Carolina Gazetteer: A Dictionary of Tar Heel Places. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9780807812471.
• Stewart, John Douglas; Stewart, Sara (2001). Scotland County. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738513584.

External links

• Official website

На других языках

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[de] Scotland County (North Carolina)

Scotland County[1] ist ein County im Bundesstaat North Carolina der Vereinigten Staaten. Der Verwaltungssitz (County Seat) ist Laurinburg, das nach der Familie McLaurin benannt wurde, frühen Siedlern in diesem Gebiet.

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- [en] Scotland County, North Carolina

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[ru] Скотленд (округ, Северная Каролина)

Округ Скотленд (англ. Scotland County) располагается в штате Северная Каролина, США. Официально образован в 1899 году. По состоянию на 2010 год, численность населения составляла 36 157 человек.

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