CUMBERLAND COUNTY

Cumberland was formed in 1754 from Bladen. It was named in honor of William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, third son of King George II. Cumberland was the commander of the English Army at the Battle of Culloden, in which the Scotch Highlanders were defeated in 1746. Many of them came to America, and their principal settlement was in Cumberland County. Cumberland was changed to Fayette County in early 1784, but the act was repealed at the next General Assembly, which met in November, 1784. It is in the southeastern section of the State and is bounded by Sampson, Bladen, Robeson, Hoke, Harnett and Johnston counties. The present land area is 652.72 square miles. The population from the 2010 Census was 319,431. Of that population, 164,064 were white, 117,117 were black or African American, 5,140 were American Indian, 7,090 were Asian, 1,225 were Pacific Islander and 9,943 were of a different race. Another 14,852 were reported to be of two or more races and 30,190 were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The county seat was first called Cumberland Court House. In 1762 Campbellton was established at Cross Creek with provisions for the public buildings. In 1778 Cross Creek and Campbellton were joined and the courthouse was ordered to be erected in that part of the town known as Cross Creek. In 1783 Campbellton was changed to Fayetteville in honor of Lafayette. Fayetteville is the county seat.

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Cumberland County is located in the Cape Fear River Basin and is in the Coastal Plain region of the state.

References:

"American Factfinder." 2011. U. S. Census Bureau. Online at http://factfinder2.census.gov/. Accessed 3/3/2011.

Corbitt, David L. 2000. The Formation of the North Carolina Counties, 1663-1943. Sixth printing. Raleigh: State Department of Archives and History.

Powell, William Stevens, and Michael R. Hill. 2010. The North Carolina gazetteer: a dictionary of Tar Heel places and their history. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

Additional resources:

North Carolina Digital Collections. (Government & Heritage Library and NC State Archives)

NC LIVE resources

NC Natural Heritage Program database

WorldCat (Searches numerous library catalogs)