Laurinburg

History

Settlers arrived at the present town site around 1785. The settlement was named for a prominent family, the McLaurins. The name was originally spelled Laurinburgh and pronounced as if it were spelled "Laurinboro", similar to the pronunciation of Edinburgh in Scotland, though the "h" was later dropped. The community was initially located within the jurisdiction of Richmond County. In 1840, Laurinburg had a saloon, a store, and a few shacks. Laurinburg High School, a private school, was established in 1852. The settlement prospered in the years following. A line of the Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad was built through Laurinburg in the 1850s, with the first train reaching Laurinburg in 1861. The shops were later rebuilt.. Wilmington's The Morning Star reported that, by Election Day on November 8th, over five hundred black voters had removed their names from Richmond County voting rolls, the majority in Laurinburg. Several sites in Laurinburg are listed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Scotland County, North Carolina, including: * John Blue House * Mag Blue House * Central School * Dr. Evan Alexander Erwin House * E. Hervey Evans House * Thomas J. Gill House * Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church * Laurinburg Commercial Historic District * St. Andrews University * Stewart-Hawley-Malloy House * Laurinburg Institute * Villa Nova

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which 12.55 square miles (32.5 km2) is land and (1.26%) is water. Laurinburg is located northeast of Bennettsville, east of Rockingham, west of Lumberton, and southwest of Fayetteville.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,953
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  1,634
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,576
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,539
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,534
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,452
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,433
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  1,384

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
• Sycamore Lane Primary
  Elementary · Laurinburg · 420 students · 14.5:1 ratio
• Sycamore Lane Elementary
  Elementary · Laurinburg · 357 students · 13.7:1 ratio
• Scotland Early College High
  High · Laurinburg · 228 students · 25.3:1 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