Fairmont NC (Raleigh, Fayetteville, Lumberton: houses, schools, place to live)

[essiee]

Can anyone give me any information regarding the town of Fairmont NC. Is it a good place to raise a family? I know it is a small town but don't know anything else about it.

[mm34b]

It's been awhile since I lived in the Fairmont area, but at the time it was a very poor, rural, agricultural town. Very hot and humid in the summertime, but great for growing flue-cured tobacco. I would rather commute the 10 miles from Lumberton.

http://censtats.census.gov/data/NC/1603722360.pdf

[racmat]

Hello all,

My family and i are considering relocating to lumberton. Could anyone please give us the real condition of life in lumberton, (schools, crime, community, ect...) Thanks in advance!

[Major Minor]

Robeson County has some serious problems. The county still depends on agriculture and there are still many large farms but the economy is severely depressed. Up until WWII cotton was the chief crop then tobacco became the primary crop. When government support for those crops ended jobs became scarce and people began moving away. Some textile and manufacturing plants managed to remain in business but Lumberton, Fairmont and smaller towns like Rowland and Pembroke declined.

There has been some improvement in the economy of the area as light manufacturing has moved in. Many residents though commute to Fayetteville or Laurinburg to work. Things are improving slightly. There are still decaying and delapadated buildings and run down housing but efforts have been made at restoring private homes and historic property in Fairmont and Lumberton.

Pembroke is the home to NC's newest UNC institution; UNC-P which has begun a massive advertising campaign to attract students. It seems to be working as over 6,000 students are enrolled. They do have a problem with attrition since there is nothing for students to do off campus. The nearest city of any size is Fayetteville which has a reputation of being dangerous.

As mentioned previously the Hispanic population has exploded in the area. This migration has overtaxed services in the county and strained the county budget almost to the breaking point.

The Lumbee Native Americans are a peculiar group. The organization of the "tribe' is very fragmented and different groups appear to be struggling against each other. Many people who call themselves "Lumbee" can provide no evidence of their Native heritage. The local lore is that the Lumbee are the decendants of a branch of either (depends on who is telling the story) the Tuscarorans, to the east, or Creeks, to the west. Also, according to the lore, the tribe rescued the "Lost Colony" of Sir Walter Raleigh and eventually married and bred with them which, supposedly explains why some Lumbee have light hair and eyes. Also, it is claimed that the Lumbee rescued and hid run away slaves and married and bred with them. This supposedly explains why some Lumbees have features more commonly associated with African Americans.

All of that said, if I were chosing a place to live in Robeson County it would probably be in Fairmont. The town has made a real effort to improve things and there is some economic revitalization. There are some very nice houses there that are very affordable. There is still that neighborly samll town sense of pride in the schools and churches in Fairmont.