East Laurinburg

History

Scotland Village was incorporated as a town in southern Scotland County in 1903. In 1909, the name was changed to East Laurinburg. Early in East Laurinburg's history, Waverly Mills established a textile mill in the locale, which grew to include numerous homes and several churches and stores. The mill workers largely lived separately from the residents of nearby Laurinburg, the latter looking down upon the former and stalling attempts to enroll East Laurinburg children in Laurinburg city schools. In May 1934, 500 workers from four Waverly Mills plants in the town went on strike in protest of work conditions in the mills and living conditions in the company housing. The strike gained state-wide media attention after the strikers engaged in a brawl with loyalist workers, with nine people wounded by gunfire. The standoff ended 44 days later when the strikers and Waverly management agreed to arbitration, and the company subsequently promised to make improvements to plumbing in the village. East Laurinburg's population peaked in 1940 with 890 residents and thereafter declined. In June 2016 the town ceased submitting annual audit reports to the state government, as required by law. In October 2021 the North Carolina State Auditor published an audit which accused the town finance officer of embezzling $11,000 of public funds. North Carolina State Treasurer Dale Folwell subsequently urged the North Carolina Local Government Commission to vote to revoke the town's incorporation, saying the town was not a financially viable unit of government. In December the commission voted to unanimously do so, reverting the town's governing jurisdiction to Scotland County on July 1, 2022.

Geography

East Laurinburg is located at (34.768960, -79.444766). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land. U.S. Route 74 and a rail line pass through the community.

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,767
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,509
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  1,480
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,376
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,359
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,330
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  1,270
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,268

Largest nearby schools

• Scotland High School
  High · Laurinburg · 1,445 students · 18.3:1 ratio
• South Johnson Elementary
  Elementary · Laurinburg · 672 students · 13.4:1 ratio
• Laurel Hill Elementary
  Elementary · Laurel Hill · 662 students · 13.2:1 ratio
• Carver Middle
  Middle · Laurel Hill · 659 students · 17.3:1 ratio
• Spring Hill Middle
  Middle · Laurinburg · 643 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• Wagram Elementary
  Elementary · Wagram · 501 students · 15.2:1 ratio
• Sycamore Lane Primary
  Elementary · Laurinburg · 420 students · 14.5:1 ratio
• Sycamore Lane Elementary
  Elementary · Laurinburg · 357 students · 13.7:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2012-07-29
  7 km NNW of Wallace, South Carolina
• M 2.9 — 2011-03-21
  9 km S of Cordova, North Carolina
• M 3.7 — 2006-09-25
  7 km W of Rowland, North Carolina
• M 3.4 — 2006-09-22
  4 km WSW of Blenheim, South Carolina