North Carolina Sandhills community on an upswing
A patchwork of pastures surrounds the small North Carolina city of Laurinburg. Set in the Sandhills region, only a few miles north of the South Carolina border, Laurinburg has long been an agricultural community supported by the manufacturing industry. However, this diverse city of roughly 15,000 people also serves as the center of retail and culture in Scotland County.
Having survived several economic downturns, Laurinburg is now welcoming big national brands while revitalizing its historic downtown and investing in its amenities. “For a community as small as ours, we’ve now got a Chick-fil-A and a Hobby Lobby,” says Mayor Jim Willis, a Laurinburg native. "It took us three years. It was a huge win. A runway expansion is coming for our airport, and we’re finalizing plans to build a new terminal.”
With the highly rated Scotia Village retirement community and a full-service hospital in town, Willis says the city is a popular choice for retirees. Low housing prices and quick interstate access are draws for professionals who can work from home, while the private St. Andrews University brings in professors and students.
Low home prices, the reality of hurricanes
Home prices are a draw for Laurinburg, but the area isn’t seeing a boom in home construction like other parts of the state, according to Alicia Krout, a Realtor with Realty World Graham/Grubbs & Associates. "I'm noticing new homes here and there," she says. "Typically, a buyer buys a lot and builds a new house. It’s not a developer building neighborhoods." The median price for a single-family home is around $170,000, well below the state and national medians of about $365,000 and $400,000, respectively.
Midcentury ranch-style homes can be found throughout the city, while early 1900s bungalows and cottages line tree-shaded blocks surrounding downtown. Farmhouse-style Cape Cods and red brick Colonial Revivals from the late 1990s and early 2000s sit on spacious lots farther from the city center.
Laurinburg experiences four distinct seasons. While winters are mild, summers can include hurricanes. In 2018, Hurricane Florence produced flash floods and dam breaches, severely damaging businesses downtown and temporarily closing sections of U.S. Route 74.
Exploring the Lumber River, Christmas on Main
Lumber River State Park’s campsites and hiking trails are about 10 miles from Laurinburg. But the star of the park is the blackwater river itself. “It’s a beautiful place,” says Chris English, the executive director of the Laurinburg-Scotland County Area Chamber of Commerce who loves to spend time out on the water. "It’s the cypress trees and moss. It’s the way the light shines through the trees, the colors that you see and the wildlife." Closer to the city, Scotch Meadows Country Club features an 18-hole Donald Ross-designed golf course.
In town, pocket parks and neighborhood green spaces offer places to relax in nature, exercise and connect with the community. James L. Morgan Recreation Complex hosts various sports leagues and is a popular summer spot for its splash pad. In the city center, sculptures dot the Laurinburg Art Garden, which Krout says looks like the set of a holiday movie during the annual Christmas on Main event. “Music is playing, it’s beautifully decorated, and we have a snow machine and a little ice-skating rink. There’s a walk-through area where you can meet Santa and get your pictures taken.”
New life for the Laurinburg Commercial Historic District
Everyday shopping occurs on the west side of town, where national retailers line McColl Road. Red brick sidewalks wrap around the storefronts downtown in the Laurinburg Commercial Historic District, which hosts small businesses ranging from antique stores and salons to local grocers and restaurants. The area around Main Street features a social district where of-age adults can walk around with a beer in hand. It’s one of several initiatives designed to bring new energy and new business to this city center.
Adorned with murals and sculptures, downtown Laurinburg has a burgeoning art scene. It’s home to the Storytelling Arts Center, headquarters of the Arts Council of Scotland County, which puts on children’s theater camps and art classes.
The Scotland County Highland Games and a new baseball team
Scotland County honors its agricultural roots and Indigenous and Scottish heritage with several museums in Laurinburg centered around the North Carolina Rural Heritage Center. The site includes Heritage Village, where the famed John Blue House stands out among historic homesteads thanks to its Steamboat Gothic architecture. Its grounds host one of the city’s biggest annual events: the Scotland County Highland Games. Held over a weekend each October, this celebration of Scottish culture nearly doubles the city’s population for traditional Scottish games, a sheepdog exhibition, pipe-band performances and more. Dozens of clans from across the United States take part.
A collegiate wooden-bat baseball team is an exciting new addition to Laurinburg. The soon-to-be-named Old North State League team will play its first season at historic Legion Park in the summer of 2025.
Friday night lights at Scotland High, St. Andrews University in town
Scotland County Schools serves all of Laurinburg, earning an overall rating of B-minus from Niche. Krout says Friday-night football is a big part of life here, with families packing Pate Stadium to watch the Scotland High Scots play rivals like Richmond Senior High. “The Richmond-Scotland game is real," Krout says. "When you’re driving down 74, you’ll see people with signs, and cars will be honking." Private-school options include the B-rated Scotland Christian Academy and the C-minus-rated Christ the Cornerstone Academy.
Laurinburg also hosts the private St. Andrews University, which attracts horse lovers and competitive riders for its comprehensive and top-performing equestrian program.
Laurinburg Institute, a historic African American preparatory school dating to 1904, also calls the city home. The school is known for its basketball program, which has produced over a dozen NBA players, including Hall of Famer Sam Jones. The list of notable alums also includes jazz icon Dizzy Gillespie. Its name often shortened to The Tute, the school was severely damaged by hurricanes in 2016 and 2018, making its campus unusable. For now, students are learning virtually.
Quick access to Interstate 74
Several highways, including Interstate 74 and U.S. Route 501, pass through Laurinburg and connect the community to larger cities like Fayetteville, which hosts the Fort Bragg military base roughly 40 miles away. “We’re in a great place if you want to head to the beach or the mountains,” Krout says. "If you’re heading to Florida or up north, I-95 is only a half-hour away."
While Laurinburg is primarily car-dependent, the Scotland County Area Transit System offers free transportation to places like Scotland Memorial Hospital. Private planes land nearby at Laurinburg-Maxton Airport, while three international airports are roughly 100 miles away in Raleigh, Charlotte and Myrtle Beach.
Slight increase in Scotland County's violent crime, property crime decreasing
Crime data specific to Laurinburg is not readily available. However, according to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation’s Crime in North Carolina 2023 report, the violent crime rate in Scotland County increased slightly from 2022 to 2023, while the property crime rate dropped by nearly 20%.
