Southern Pines
"As towns go, it felt like a place that combined the best of both worlds: small town Southern life and Yankee village ingenuity."(Page 23)

Ashort five miles from the Village of Pinehurst lies the town of Southern Pines -- a unique small town with a vibrant downtown area laid out on a sensible grid of walkable streets named after states in the Northeast and Midwestern US. The essence of downtown Southern Pines is embodied in its unique array of shops. This streetscape includes historic buildings that over the years have housed an assortment of businesses providing life's necessities and pleasures in colorful and friendly style. Downtown Southern Pines' present vitality is linked to its historic boom in the 1920's, when it first grew rapidly as a center of commerce and resort living.

Early settlers in the area were Highland Scots. Sandy soil produced few crops and made travel in the area difficult. However, the coming of the railroad allowed first for the export of harvested pine trees, then for the import of visitors to the area's resort hotels. The Town's founder, John T. Patrick, bought the first 675 acres of land for the town in 1884 at a place known as Shaw's Ridge for the sum of $1,265. He called it Vineland, but soon changed the name to Southern Pines. Originally conceived of as a health resort, Patrick saw the climate as the area's biggest asset. Parallel to the development of "East" Southern Pines was "West Southern Pines", which was one of the few -- and among the first -- incorporated African American towns in North Carolina. The two communities were merged through its annexation into Southern Pines in 1931. The town has flourished over the years, surviving World Wars and the Depression and changing economies to become the active community it is today.

Rail service was critical to the development of the Sandhills region in general, as well as the town of Southern Pines. With the establishment of rail service into Moore County in the late 1800's came the expansion of the production of naval stores from the vast pine forests of the region. Then, as the area became denuded of trees, efforts were made to encourage settlement. The train brought John T. Patrick to Shaw's Ridge in 1884 and he conceived the idea of promoting the climate of the Sandhills to restore the health of consumptives (tuberculosis patients) and of building resort communities along the rail lines. The Seaboard Airline Railway system supported Patrick's scheme and financed his tour of the North to promote the area. The Seaboard Airline Railway constructed the current depot in 1898, and the station continues to serve passengers today via Amtrak.

LINK: www.southernpines.net