1805-1829
Fayetteville's population grows
At the beginning of the 19th century, the central question for Cumberland County, with Fayetteville as its commercial hub, amounted to this: What can we build here, establish here, to secure future growth and prosperity in this rural region?
It was not an easy question, then as now. But there were some notable developments:
Cotton followed tobacco's lead and continued to gain in importance, with the first textile mills cranking up during this time.
The Cape Fear River remained central as a means for travel and trade, literally gaining steam at the start of this boat-transport era. The first Clarendon Bridge crossed the river in 1820. In 1824, as evidence of the "naval stores" trade derived from the region's pine forests, an estimated 100,000 barrels of tar were transported by boat from Fayetteville to Wilmington.
Fayetteville remained a village of only 3,500 residents in 1820, but the county's population still ranked as the second-most urban in the state behind New Hanover (Wilmington). An 1825 map of Fayetteville shows the main thoroughfares and businesses (including the new Lafayette Hotel) and new churches (such as First Presbyterian and St. John's Episcopal).
Politics remained vibrant as the county shifted from a Federalist position early in the century to support the Jacksonian Democratic ticket in the 1820s. In local government, Fayetteville was governed by seven commissioners elected from geographic wards and a "magistrate of police" (called the mayor after 1857).
The growth, through stops and starts, was built on free enterprise. It was also built on racial inequality.
Fayetteville's population was 45.7 percent "nonwhite" in 1820, according to the census, but only 50 of those were the households of free blacks. A total of 287 free blacks were listed in households in Cumberland County outside Fayetteville.
The lines were being drawn - for roads, canals, buildings and other economic initiatives; but also in the laws that divided those who were free vs. enslaved, white vs. black.
John MacRae's 1825 map of Fayetteville shows the town's development.
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