Fair Bluff is a town in
Columbus County,
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
, United States. The population was 709 at the
2020 census.
History
Fair Bluff was the name originally given to a bluff overlooking the
Lumber River
The Lumber River, sometimes referred to as the Lumbee River, is a river in south-central North Carolina in the flat Coastal Plain. European settlers first called the river Drowning Creek, which is still used as the name of its headwater. The w ...
. In 1807, plans were made to build a town upon the lands of John Wooton at the bluff to be known as Wootonton. The town was established but the name was never changed. The community was reincorporated in 1873.
The
Powell House was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1978.
Agriculture has always been a mainstay of the economy in the town. Tobacco was a major commodity grown in the area. By the 1980s, tobacco growing subsided. This caused a shift for the town and its citizens. The downtown continued to thrive until the late 1980s when a car dealership moved from the business district to another location. Haphazard town planning saw a mixture of residential, business, and industry all over town. Tens of millions in U.S. government grants poured into the city beginning in the mid-1980s until present day. But the town continued to decline and people left for better opportunities elsewhere. The decline in Fair Bluff was similar to neighboring towns of
Tabor City,
Boardman,
Brunswick,
Cerro Gordo, and
Chadbourn. A town manager was hired to handle administrative duties of the town.
In 1999, Fair Bluff experienced a devastating flood event, caused by
Hurricane Floyd
Hurricane Floyd was a very powerful and large tropical cyclone which struck the Bahamas and the East Coast of the United States. It was the sixth list of named tropical cyclones, named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1 ...
.
In 2012, the Police Chief of Fair Bluff Marty Lewis was arrested, tried and convicted for selling and delivering oxycodone and possession with the intent to sell and conspiracy to traffic while acting as police chief. He was sentenced to a minimum of seven years in prison and fined $100,000. On April 9, 2015, Marty Lewis filled an appeal of his case. On November 3, 2015, the verdict was unanimously affirmed by the
North Carolina Court of Appeals
The North Carolina Court of Appeals (in case citation, N.C. Ct. App.) is the only intermediate appellate court in the state of North Carolina. It is composed of fifteen members who sit in rotating panels of three. The Court of Appeals was create ...
, leaving in place the 90 to 117-month prison sentence originally imposed. Lewis will not be eligible for parole before November 2022.
In October 2016, the town was devastated by flooding on the
Lumber River
The Lumber River, sometimes referred to as the Lumbee River, is a river in south-central North Carolina in the flat Coastal Plain. European settlers first called the river Drowning Creek, which is still used as the name of its headwater. The w ...
caused by Hurricane Matthew, prompting the evacuation of hundreds of residents. Floodwaters reached the town hall, police department, fire department, a grocery store, and a school.
In September 2018, Fair Bluff was flooded again by the impact of Hurricane Florence, forcing evacuations and leaving the downtown area under water, destroying 72 homes. After Florence, many buildings in the downtown area of the town were left abandoned, with no plans to reoccupy or repair them.
The town's only factory closed several months later, and hundreds of residents moved away. The federal government bought out residential properties in the community, straining the local government tax base.
[ The town government drew up plans to level the historic business district and turn it into a park, and build a new business district further away from the Lumber River.
]
Government
Fair Bluff has a part-time town manager, assisted by the elected town mayor and town council. The town manager also works for five other deteriorating towns in Columbus County.
Geography
Fair Bluff is located at (34.311212, -79.032387),United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the town has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 37.93% White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.68% Native American, 1.19% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 1.44% of the population.
There were 505 households, out of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.2% were married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 20.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.0% were non-families. 36.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.2% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 77.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $17,008, and the median income for a family was $22,969. Males had a median income of $20,764 versus $16,731 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the town was $9,829. About 31.8% of families and 37.1% of the population were below the poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 50.9% of those under age 18 and 24.3% of those age 65 or over.
References
Works cited
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Towns in Columbus County, North Carolina
Towns in North Carolina