Early settlement The area of present-day Fayetteville was historically inhabited by various
Siouan Native American peoples, such as the
Eno,
Shakori,
Waccamaw, Keyauwee, and
Cape Fear people. They followed successive cultures of other indigenous peoples in the area for more than 12,000 years. After the violent upheavals of the
Yamasee War and
Tuscarora Wars during the second decade of the 18th century, the colonial government of
North Carolina, encouraged colonial settlement along the upper
Cape Fear River, the only navigable waterway entirely within the colony. Two inland settlements, Campbelton and Cross Creek, were settled by
Scots from
Campbeltown,
Argyll and Bute,
Scotland. Merchants in
Wilmington, wanted a town on the Cape Fear River to secure trade with the frontier country. They were afraid people would use the
Pee Dee River and transport their goods to
Charleston, South Carolina. The merchants bought land from Newberry in Cross Creek. Campbelton became a place where poor whites and free blacks lived and gained a reputation for lawlessness. In 1783, Cross Creek and Campbelton united, and the new town was incorporated as Fayetteville in honor of
Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, a French military hero who significantly aided the American forces during the war. Fayetteville was the first city to be named in his honor in the United States. as part of his 1824-1825 tour of all the states as "
The Nation's Guest." Admirers stood in mud and pouring rain to welcome him. He was feted with a formal dinner, a ball, and multiple military displays.
Antebellum Fayetteville had 3,500 residents in 1820, but
Cumberland County's population still ranked as the second most urban in the state, behind
New Hanover County (Wilmington). Its "Great Fire" of 1831 was believed to be one of the worst in the nation's history, despite no deaths associated with the incident. Hundreds of homes, businesses, and most of the best-known public buildings were lost, including the old "State House". Fayetteville leaders moved quickly to help the victims and rebuild the town. There was no point in rebuilding the State House since the state government was firmly installed in
Raleigh. On its site, the city built a
Market House, recreating the city around it just as it had previously surrounded the State House. The new building had a covered area under which business could be conducted since every store in Fayetteville had been destroyed in the fire. Completed in 1832, it became the town's and county's administrative building. It was a town market until 1906 and served as Fayetteville Town Hall until 1907. Currently (2020), it is a local history museum.
The Civil War era through late 19th century during the Civil War. In March 1865, Gen.
William T. Sherman and his 60,000-man army attacked Fayetteville and destroyed the
Confederate arsenal (designed by the Scottish architect
William Bell). Sherman's troops also destroyed foundries and cotton factories, and the offices of
The Fayetteville Observer. Not far from Fayetteville, Confederate and
Union troops engaged in the last
cavalry battle of the Civil War, the
Battle of Monroe's Crossroads. Downtown Fayetteville was the site of a skirmish, as Confederate Lt. Gen.
Wade Hampton and his men surprised a cavalry patrol, killing 11 Union soldiers and capturing a dozen on March 11, 1865. During the late nineteenth century, North Carolina adopted
Jim Crow laws that imposed
racial segregation.
20th century to present . Cumberland County's population increased in the post-
World War II years, with its 43% increase in the 1960s the largest in any of North Carolina's 100 counties. Construction was fast-paced as shopping developments, and suburban subdivisions began to spread outside the Fayetteville city limits toward
Fort Bragg and
Pope Air Force Base. The Fayetteville and Cumberland County school systems moved toward
integration gradually, beginning in the early 1960s;
busing brought about wider-scale student integration in the 1970s. Segregation of public facilities continued. Marches and sit-ins during the
Civil Rights Movement, with students from Fayetteville State Teachers College (
Fayetteville State University) at the forefront, led to the end of whites-only service at restaurants and segregated seating in theaters. Blacks and women gained office in significant numbers from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. The
Vietnam Era was a time of change in the Fayetteville area. From 1966 to 1970, more than 200,000 soldiers trained at Fort Bragg before leaving for Vietnam. This buildup stimulated area businesses.
Anti-war protests in Fayetteville drew national attention because of Fort Bragg, a city that generally supported the war. Anti-war groups invited the actress and activist
Jane Fonda to Fayetteville to participate in three anti-war events. The era also saw an increase in crime and drug addiction, especially along Hay Street, with media giving the city the nickname "Fayettenam". At this time, Fayetteville also made headlines after Army doctor
Jeffrey R. MacDonald murdered his pregnant wife and two daughters in their Ft. Bragg home in 1970; the book and movie
Fatal Vision were based on these events. To combat the dispersal of
suburbanization, Fayetteville has worked to redevelop its downtown through various
revitalization projects; it has attracted large commercial and defense companies such as Purolator,
General Dynamics and
Wal-Mart Stores and Distribution Center. Development of the
Airborne & Special Operations Museum, Fayetteville Area Transportation Museum, Fayetteville Linear Park, and Fayetteville Festival Park, which opened in late 2006, have added regional attractions to the center. In the first decade of the 21st century, the towns and rural areas surrounding Fayetteville had rapid growth. Suburbs such as
Hope Mills,
Raeford, and
Spring Lake had population increases. In 2005, Congress passed the
Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Act, resulting in several new commands relocating to Fort Bragg. These include the
U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) and
U.S. Army Reserve Command, both of which relocated from
Fort McPherson in
Atlanta. More than 30,000 people were expected to relocate to the area with associated businesses and families. FORSCOM awards over $300 billion in contracts annually. In the November/December 2009 issue of
Where to Retire, the magazine named Fayetteville as one of the best places to retire in the United States for military retirements. In April 2019, a report by GoBankingRates (which analyzed data from 175 American cities) listed Fayetteville as one of the top ten American cities at risk of a severe housing crash. 26.8% of home mortgages in Fayetteville were listed as being "under water", while the median home value was listed as $108,000. In December 2015, Fayetteville unveiled the
Guinness World Record for the biggest Christmas stocking, weighing approximately , and measuring 74.5 x 139 feet.
Fort Bragg and Pope Army Airfield Fort Bragg and
Pope Army Airfield are in the northern part of the city of Fayetteville. Several U.S. Army airborne units are stationed at Fort Bragg, most prominently the
XVIII Airborne Corps HQ, the
82nd Airborne Division, the
United States Army Special Operations Command, the
1st Special Forces Command (Airborne), and the United States Army
John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. Fort Bragg was the home of the Field Artillery at the onset of World War II. All the Army's
artillery units east of the Mississippi River were based at the post, about 5,000 troops. Soldiers tested the Army's new bantam car, soon known as the
Jeep, although most of the power to move artillery still came from horses and burros. On September 12, 1940, the Army contracted to expand the post, bringing the
9th Infantry Division to Fort Bragg. The mission of Pope Field is to provide
airlift to American armed forces and humanitarian missions flown worldwide. Pope Field mainly includes air transportation for the 82nd Airborne, among other airborne units on Fort Bragg. Pope Army Airfield was created in 1919 as Pope Field. In 1947, it was assigned to the new
United States Air Force as Pope Air Force Base. The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Program (BRAC) transferred the field to the US Army; it was officially redesignated as an Army Airfield on March 1, 2011. All of Pope's
fighter jet squadrons have been relocated to
Moody AFB, Georgia. The central entity at Pope is now the Air Force Reserve, although they still have a small number of active personnel. In September 2008, Fayetteville annexed 85% of Fort Bragg, bringing the city's population to 206,000. Fort Bragg retains its police, fire, and EMS services. Fayetteville hopes to attract large retail businesses to the area using the new population figures.
Sanctuary community for military families On September 5, 2008, Cumberland County announced it was the "World's First Sanctuary for Soldiers and Their Families"; it marked major roads with blue and white "Sanctuary" signage. Within the county, soldiers were to be provided with local services, ranging from free childcare to job placement for soldiers' spouses. Five hundred volunteers have signed up to watch over military families. They were recruited to offer one-to-one services; member businesses will also offer discounts and preferential treatment.
Time magazine recognized Fayetteville for its support of military families and identified it as "America's Most Pro-Military Town".
National Register of Historic Places ==Geography==