Moore County, North Carolina: History
Archeological evidence indicates Siouan Native Americans inhabited the area eventually comprising Moore County from the early 500s until the 1600s. European settlers arrived in about 1739. In subsequent years, settlers of English, Ulster Scots, and German origin arrived by way of the Great Wagon Road and from the Cape Fear River valley, with most choosing to reside in the northern section of the eventual county. From the 1750s to the 1770s, the area received an influx of settlers from the Scottish Highlands, who mostly occupied the southeastern portions of the county and developed a naval stores industry with the area's longleaf pines. The Scots also brought African slaves to the area.
Settlement decreased during the American Revolutionary War. Settlers in the northern portion of the eventual county generally supported the Patriots, while the Highlands Scots in the southeastern area were mostly Loyalists. In July 1781 a Patriot–Loyalist skirmish took place at the House in the Horseshoe. Many Loyalists were socially ostracized after the end of the war. Moore County was formed in 1784, from part of Cumberland County. It was named after Alfred Moore, an officer in the Revolutionary War and a later associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. A courthouse was erected the following year. The county's boundaries were redrawn several times between 1784 and 1829. The county's northern section benefited from economic development in the years after its creation. In 1796, a law was passed designating the county seat at a new community to be known as Carthage, where the courthouse was eventually moved in 1814. A new one was built six years later. Another one was built in 1840.
Many men from the county served in the American Civil War. In 1877, the Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad was established and laid through Moore, leading to the creation of new communities. Logging of the local pines increased and the rail towns of Cameron, Manly, Keyser, and Aberdeen were built to ship the lumber. Most of the county's old-growth pine forests were depleted by 1900. With large swathes of lands cleared and transportation links well-established, new health resort towns and mineral spas were created, such as Southern Pines, Pinehurst, Pinebluff, and Jackson Springs.
In 1897, the first golf courses were established in the county. The number of courses expanded over the years and drew in wealthy vacationers from New England and the Mid-Atlantic, who built seasonal homes in Pinehurst and Southern Pines. Fox hunting and polo and equestrian activities also grew in popularity. In 1907, parts of Moore and Chatham counties were combined to form Lee County. In 1922, the present Moore County Courthouse was built. In 1958, the Little River Township of Hoke County was annexed to Moore.
Moore County has many golf resorts in the Southern Pines/Pinehurst area, and hosted the 1996 and 2001 Women's U.S. Opens, as well as the 1999, 2005, and 2024 Men's U.S. Opens. The Women's Open returned to Southern Pines in 2007. In 2014, they consecutively hosted both the Women's and Men's Opens in the same year, a first in U.S. Open history.