Moore County, North Carolina

Archeological evidence indicates Siouan Native Americans inhabited the area eventually comprising Moore County from the early 500s until the 1600s. European settlers arrived in about 1739. In subsequent years, settlers of English, Ulster Scots, and German origin arrived by way of the Great Wagon Road and from the Cape Fear River valley, with most choosing to reside in the northern section of the eventual county. From the 1750s to the 1770s, the area received an influx of settlers from the Scottish Highlands, who mostly occupied the southeastern portions of the county and developed a naval stores industry with the area's longleaf pines.[4] The Scots also brought African slaves to the area.[5]

A Revolutionary War skirmish occurred at the House in the Horseshoe (pictured) in 1781.

Settlement decreased during the American Revolutionary War. Settlers in the northern portion of the eventual county generally supported the Patriots, while the Highlands Scots in the southeastern area were mostly Loyalists.[4] In July 1781 a Patriot–Loyalist skirmish took place at the House in the Horseshoe.[6] Many Loyalists were socially ostracized after the end of the war.[4] Moore County was formed in 1784, from part of Cumberland County. It was named after Alfred Moore, an officer in the American Revolutionary War and a later associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.[7] A courthouse was erected the following year.[4] The county's boundaries were redrawn several times between 1784 and 1829.[8] The county's northern section benefited from economic development in the years after its creation. In 1796, a law was passed designating the county seat at a new community to be known as Carthage,[7] where the courthouse was eventually moved in 1814. A new one was built six years later. Another one was built in 1840.[4]

Equestrian games in Pinehurst, c. 1930s

Many men from the county served in the American Civil War.[4] In 1877, the Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad was established and laid through Moore, leading to the creation of new communities. Logging of the local pines increased and the rail towns of Cameron, Manly, Keyser, and Aberdeen were built to ship the lumber.[4][9] Most of the county's old-growth pine forests were depleted by 1900.[10] With large swathes of lands cleared and transportation links well-established, new health resort towns and mineral spas were created, such as Southern Pines, Pinehurst, Pinebluff, and Jackson Springs.[4][9]

In 1897, the first golf courses were established in the county. The number of courses expanded over the years and drew in wealthy vacationers from New England and the Mid-Atlantic, who built seasonal homes in Pinehurst and Southern Pines. Fox hunting and polo and equestrian activities also grew in popularity.[9] In 1907, parts of Moore and Chatham counties were combined to form Lee County.[11] In 1922, the present Moore County Courthouse was built.[4] In 1958, the Little River Township of Hoke County was annexed to Moore.[12]

Moore County has many golf resorts in the Southern Pines/Pinehurst area, and hosted the 1996 and 2001 Women's U.S. Opens, as well as the 1999 and 2005 Men's U.S. Opens. The Women's Open returned to Southern Pines in 2007. In 2014, they consecutively hosted both the Women's and Men's Opens in the same year, a first in U.S. Open history.[13]

Pine trees in Moore County

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 705.69 square miles (1,827.7 km²), of which 697.68 square miles (1,807.0 km²) is land and 8.00 square miles (20.7 km²) (1.13%) is water.[14] Moore County is bordered by Chatham, Lee, Harnett, Cumberland, Hoke, Scotland, Richmond, Montgomery County, and Randolph counties.[4] It lies mostly within the Piedmont region, though some of the county extends into the state's Coastal Plain.[15] Additionally, the county lies within the Sandhills region,[16] and about two-thirds of its land are host to sandy soils.[17] The county drains into the Cape Fear River Basin and Lumber River Basin.[18] Local waterways include Pine Lake, Deep and Little Rivers[19][20] and Aberdeen, Big Governors, Big Juniper, Drowning, Herds, McLendons, Sugar, and Little Crane Creeks.[15][21][22][23]

Longleaf pine is native to the region.[24] It grows in the Sandhills Game Land, a state nature preserve which covers part of Moore County,[25] and the Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve, which resides wholly in the county.[26] Fish present in the county include bass, sunfish,[27] and Cape Fear shiner.[19] The endangered red-cockaded woodpecker resides in the area.[16]

Moore County residents are on average wealthier than their statewide contemporaries.[16] In mid-2021, the United States Census Bureau reported the county's median annual income as $63,324.[41] As of December 2022, the poverty rate was about nine percent.[16] Healthcare and social assistance, accommodation and food services, and retail are the largest-employing private sectors in Moore.[42] Moore's economy also relies heavily on tourism, largely driven by golfing events. In 2021, the county benefitted from $673 million in tourism spending, giving it the 10th largest tourism economy among North Carolina's counties.[43] Some county residents work in both civilian and military capacities at the U.S. Army's Fort Liberty in neighboring Cumberland County. Some manufacturing also takes place in Moore.[16]

Public airplane facilities are provided by the Moore County Airport, located near Pinehurst and Southern Pines,[44] though many air travelers opt to fly into Raleigh-Durham International Airport before driving to Moore.[45] A private airport, Gilliam–McConnell Airfield is maintained in Carthage.[46] North–south rail lines are operated by CSX Transportation, with additional short-line rail service provided by the Aberdeen, Carolina and Western Railway and the Aberdeen & Rockfish Railroad Company.[44] Amtrak maintains a passenger rail station in Southern Pines.[47][48]

Public primary and secondary education in the county is provided by Moore County Schools. Of the county's K-12 students, 72 percent are enrolled in public schools, 16 percent are enrolled in private and charter schools, and 11 percent are homeschooled. Post-secondary education is provided by the Sandhills Community College, which has its main campus in Moore.[50] SandHoke Early College, a program managed by Hoke County Schools, also uses the campus.[51] According to the 2021 American Community Survey, an estimated 40.8 percent of county residents have attained a bachelor's degree or higher level of education.[52]

Many Moore County residents helped developed the regional pottery craft centered in Jugtown, Randolph County. The county is host to the Moore County Agricultural Fair, the Carthage Buggy Festival, the Pet Parade and Bark-in-the-Park Festival, and the North Carolina Playwright Festival.[15] The Moore County Hounds hunting club hosts an annual British-style traditional fox hunt, the Blessing of the Hounds, on Thanksgiving Day.[53][54] Moore County, particularly the Pinehurst–Southern Pines area, host many golf courses and golfing tournaments.[16][55] Equestrianism is popular in the county.[16] Several area buildings and sites have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[15][56]

• Charles Brady (1951-2006), was raised here. He became a physician, career Navy officer, and NASA astronaut
• John Edwards (born 1953), politician, US Senator and former presidential candidate was raised here
• Jeff Hardy (born 1977) and Matt Hardy (born 1974), brothers, were raised here; they are professional wrestlers currently working in All Elite Wrestling as The Hardy Boyz
• Shannon Moore (born 1979), was raised here; he is a wrestler currently working in the Independent Circuit
• Shanann Watts (1984-2018), murdered with her two daughters by her husband Chris in Colorado in 2018[67]

• List of counties in North Carolina
• Moore County substation attack, electrical substation attack in 2022

• Bonham, John G. (August 21, 2012), Moore County Working Lands Protection Plan (PDF), North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
• Corbitt, David Leroy (2000). The formation of the North Carolina counties, 1663-1943 (reprint ed.). Raleigh: North Carolina Division of Archives and History. OCLC 46398241.
• Monroe, Joyce C.; Raeford-Hoke Museum (2011). Hoke County. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-8679-3.
• Schloegl, Richard J. (1997). Moore County. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780752405261.
• Town of Southern Pines Comprehensive Long Range Plan (PDF), Town of Southern Pines, March 8, 2016

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Moore County, North Carolina.

• Geographic data related to Moore County, North Carolina at OpenStreetMap
• Official website
• Moore County Chamber of Commerce
• Moore County Historical Association
• Moore County NC History
• Go Sandhills History
• NCGenWeb Moore County, genealogy resources for the county

35°18′30″N 79°29′34″W