Page 18 - Robeson Living Fall 2021

History Highlights of

Robeson County

By Blake Tyner

I usually focus on one particular area of Robeson County his- nel Thomas Robeson, hero of the Revolutionary War Battle of
tory, but I thought I would share the presentation that I did Elizabethtown in July 1781 and proponent of creation of the
on nine years ago at the 225th anniversary of the founding of county.
the county. I covered the founding and some highlights of the
county’s history. I was given 15 minutes to cover the 225 years The first court session was held in February 1787 in a build-
of the history, so the presentation was a brief overview. ing on the plantation of General John Willis the justices were
Abraham Barnes, John Willis, Elias Barnes and Jacob Alford.
The first attempt to carve Robeson County from North Caro- In May 1787 a plat for the town of Lumberton was present with
lina’s mother county Bladen, (55 of 100 current counties where the scheme for the lottery of lands. The building that had been
once part of her) was in 1785 but the bill was voted down. used as the courthouse was purchased from John Willis and
The bill was reintroduced by Thomas Robeson’s brother-in- moved to courthouse square and used until a brick building was
law Thomas Brown, and it passed the Senate December 11, erected in 1848.
1786, and the House of Commons December 18th. It was rati-
fied Jan 5, 1787. Robeson County can be called a “Child of the The county’s nickname “State of Robeson” comes not only
Revolution” in that it was created after Revolutionary War due from its size of 948 square miles, but from the fierce indepen-
to area residents’ complaints and petitions that Bladen was too dence and self-reliance of the people who made the county.
large and unwieldy to govern. The county was named for Colo-

Page 18 Robeson Living ~ Fall 2021