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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. Its county seat is Laurinburg. 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.
[edit] 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. 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. The relevant portion was then moved into the new Richmond County in 1779. 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. Laurel Hill became the first major community in the region, prospering as a post-revolution trading center. More immigrants settled the area at this time, including Germans, Welsh, English, and Ulster Scots. Enslaved Africans were also brought into the area. The Laurel Hill community largely moved south in 1861 after the Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad laid a line through the area. Laurinburg was incorporated in 1877. 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,[1] named in homage to the Scottish settlers. Laurinburg was declared the seat of Scotland County in 1900 and the first courthouse was erected the following year. A new courthouse was built in 1964. [edit] Timeline
[edit] Population History
[edit] Research Tips[edit] External links
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