Southern Pines is a town in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. Its population was 15,545 as of the 2020 census, land for the establishment of a town was purchased in 1884

As of 1898, it was a sundown town where African Americans were not allowed to reside or conduct business.

The James Boyd House, Shaw House, Southern Pines Historic District, Firleigh Farms, and Moore County Hunt Lands and Mile-Away Farms are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Southern Pines Golf Club, one of Donald Ross' earliest courses, was founded in 1906.

Geography

Southern Pines is in southern Moore County in the Sandhills Region of North Carolina. It is bordered to the south by Aberdeen, to the west by Pinehurst, and to the north by Carthage and Whispering Pines.

U.S. Route 1 (Sandhills Boulevard) is the primary road through Southern Pines, passing northwest of the downtown area. US-1 leads northeast to Sanford and southwest through Aberdeen to Rockingham. North Carolina Highway 2 has its eastern terminus in Southern Pines and leads west to the center of Pinehurst. NC 22 has its southern terminus in Southern Pines and leads north to Carthage, the Moore county seat.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town of Southern Pines has a total area of , of which , or 1.02%, is covered by water.

| align-fn = center

thumb|Shops along North Broad Street

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Southern Pines had a population of 15,545. The median age was 44.5 years. 19.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 28.8% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 85.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.5 males age 18 and over.

94.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 5.5% lived in rural areas.

There were 7,322 households in Southern Pines, of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 42.2% were married-couple households, 19.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 34.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 38.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

!scope="col"| Race

!scope="col"| Number

!scope="col"| Percentage

|-

!scope="row"| White (non-Hispanic)

| 11,126

| 71.57%

|-

!scope="row"| Black or African American (non-Hispanic)

| 2,609

| 16.78%

|-

!scope="row"| Native American

| 64

| 0.41%

|-

!scope="row"| Asian

| 232

| 1.49%

|-

!scope="row"| Pacific Islander

| 13

| 0.08%

|-

!scope="row"| Other/multiracial

| 683

| 4.39%

|-

!scope="row"| Hispanic or Latino

| 818

| 5.26%

|}

2010 census

As of the 2010 census,

Of the 5,866 households, 21% had children under 18 living with them, 40.6% were married couples living together, 13% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.7 had a male householder with no female present, and 38.9% were not families. The average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.75. and for a family was $60,683. Males had a median income of $29,855 versus $23,920 for females. The per capita income for the town was $30,886.

  • Sarah Dessen, novelist
  • Denny Emerson, equestrian
  • Charlie Engle, ultramarathon runner and author
  • Augustus M. Gurney, U.S. Army brigadier general, retired in Southern Pines
  • James Holshouser Jr., former Republican governor of North Carolina
  • Patricia Hollingsworth Holshouser, former first lady of North Carolina
  • Richard Hudson, U.S. representative
  • Sandy Koufax, Hall of Fame pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, owned a home in Southern Pines.
  • Julien J. LeBourgeois, vice admiral of the United States Navy
  • Carwood Lipton, member 101st Airborne Division in World War II, portrayed in Band of Brothers, spent his retirement years in Southern Pines.
  • James Russell McGregor (James 3X Shabazz), a leader of the Nation of Islam and an associate of Malcolm X
  • Armelia McQueen, actress
  • D. Jeffrey Mims, artist and founder of Academy of Classical Design
  • Shannon Moore, professional wrestler
  • Richard T. Morgan, North Carolina state legislator, businessman, and farmer
  • Winant Sidle, U.S. Army major general
  • John Frank Stevens, railroad builder, discoverer of Stevens Pass, and lead engineer for the Panama Canal
  • Michael Walsh, horse trainer, National Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee, founder of the Stoneybrook Steeplechase
  • Toni Lynn Washington, blues singer

Sister city

Southern Pines has one sister city, as designated by Sister Cities International:

  • Newry/Mourne, County Down, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

See also

  • List of sundown towns in the United States

References

Works cited

  • Moore County Chamber of Commerce