Celebrate Fayetteville: Exploring the Greater Fayetteville Region

Fayetteville, Spring Lake, Hope Mills,
Stedman, Wade, Godwin, Falcon, Linden
and Eastover. Fayetteville is the largest and
serves as the county seat. Fayetteville has
a population of more than 208,000, making
it the sixth largest municipality in the
state. Cumberland County is also proud to
be the home of Fort Bragg and its more
than sixty thousand military members and
their families.
Geographically, Cumberland County
spans approximately 661 square miles. The
Cape Fear River, one of the state’s major
waterways, runs through the county and is a
natural treasure providing drinking water
for hundreds of thousands of people, as
well as recreational opportunities and
wildlife habitat. Other scenic gems include
Rhodes Pond, Cross Creek, Lake Rim and
the waterfalls at Carver’s Creek, which
became North Carolina’s newest state park
in 2013.
In addition to a large urban center,
Cumberland County has major
manufacturing facilities and technological,
professional, defense, retail and servicerelated
industries.
The county has a viable and diverse
agricultural industry, producing poultry,
swine, soybeans, corn, cotton and tobacco.
Farms and forests cover over half of the
county, providing economic, ecological and
social benefits to the community at large.
The County of Cumberland originated as a
settlement by the Highland Scots and others
in the Upper Cape Fear Valley between 1729
and 1736. The area became a link to other
settlements when a receiving and distribution
center opened on the Cape Fear River in
1730. The settlement was known as
Campbellton. In 1754 the Colonial Assembly
passed an act resulting in the political division
of Bladen County, forming Cumberland
County, which was named for William
Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, who
commanded the British Army. The county
grew and prospered as Scotch-Irish, German
and Moravian immigrants entered the area.
The first courthouse was near Linden in the
northern part of the county. Campbellton
became the county seat in 1778 and five
years later the town merged with Cross
Creek to become Fayetteville, named in
honor of Marquis De Lafayette, the French
general who served in the American
Revolutionary Army.
For more information about Cumberland
County, please visit the county’s official website at
www.co.cumberland.nc.us or official Facebook
page at www.facebook.com/CumberlandNC.
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Above: Telecommunications Supervisor
Michael Rowell answers an emergency call
in the 911 Call Center located in the
Cumberland County Law Enforcement
Center at 131 Dick Street.
Left: Cumberland County Animal Shelter
Manager Jennifer Hutchinson-Tracy
spends time with a dog awaiting adoption.
The Animal Control Department operates
a shelter and adoption program to help
find homes for unwanted animals.
The department enforces ordinances such
as those governing vaccinations and also
educates the public on responsible
pet ownership.
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