Fayetteville's Rich History
Few places in America have played such a formative role in our country's most defining moments as Fayetteville, from its original settlement in 1739 by Scottish immigrants from the highlands of Scotland arriving via the Cape Fear River, through the deployment of troops to Afghanistan and Iraq today. It is here the very seeds of American freedom, democracy and patriotism were planted and continue to grow.
In 1762, the town of Campbellton, located on the Cape Fear River, was chartered by the colonial assembly. In 1778, Campbellton united with the neighboring town of Cross Creek to become Upper and Lower Campbellton.
In 1783, the North Carolina General Assembly approved the town's official renaming to Fayetteville in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834), the French nobleman who served as a Major General in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
Out of the dozens of U.S. cities and countries named after the Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette, Fayetteville, NC was the first, and it is said, the only one he actually visited. Forty-two years after its founding in 1793, Lafayette traveled to Fayetteville in a horse-drawn carriage and was welcomed by residents.
The Fayetteville area has played key roles during defining moments in America's history. The Liberty Point Resolves of 1775 pledged local support for the Revolutionary War cause for independence from England, while Scottish heroine Flora MacDonald rallied for the loyalist cause. After the Revolution, with no permanent state capital, the North Carolina legislature periodically met here. In 1789, at a meeting in Fayetteville, the legislature ratified the U.S. Constitution and chartered the University of North Carolina, America's oldest state university.
The area grew as a center of government and commerce because of its location as an inland port and the hub of the early "Plank Roads" system, key to overland travel from the 1840s to 1850s.
Fayetteville citizens joined together to rebuild their city after two separate calamities. The first was the Great Fire of 1831 that destroyed over 600 buildings. Reconstruction following the Great Fire resulted in many of the landmark structures that we appreciate today. The second occurred during the Civil War when the city found itself in the path of General Sherman's Union Troops. They wreaked destruction upon the town and burned the North Carolina Arsenal, a manufacturing facility for weapons and ammunition for the Confederacy. Once again, Fayetteville rose to the challenge to repair the damages to their city and spirit.
Known throughout its history for its cultural diversity and military presence, today the Fayetteville area stands as a testament to its proud past. Many structures have been painstakingly preserved to reflect this history in nine designated historic districts across the city.