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Columbus County, North Carolina

Coordinates: 34°16′N 78°40′W / 34.26°N 78.67°W / 34.26; -78.67
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Not to be confused with Columbus, North Carolina.

Columbus County
County
Columbus County Courthouse, Whiteville
Columbus County Courthouse, Whiteville
Flag of Columbus County
Flag
Official seal of Columbus County
Seal
Motto: 
"We are ready to grow with you."
Map of North Carolina highlighting Columbus County
Location within the U.S. state of North Carolina
Map of the United States highlighting North Carolina
North Carolina's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 34°16′N 78°40′W / 34.26°N 78.67°W / 34.26; -78.67
Country United States
State North Carolina
Founded1808
Named forChristopher Columbus
SeatWhiteville
Largest cityWhiteville
Area
 • Total954 sq mi (2,470 km2)
 • Land937 sq mi (2,430 km2)
 • Water16 sq mi (40 km2)  1.7%
Population
 • Estimate 
(2021)
55,092
 • Density58.8/sq mi (22.7/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district7th
Websitewww.columbusco.org

Columbus County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina, on its southeastern border. Its county seat is Whiteville.[1] The 2020 census showed a loss of 12.9% of the population from that of 2010. As of the 2020 Census, the population is 50,623.[2] This included inmate prison population of approximately 2500.[3]

History

The third largest county in North Carolina was formed in 1808 in the early federal period from parts of Bladen and Brunswick counties. Named for Christopher Columbus, the county was formed by an Act of the General Assembly because of the difficulties of the inhabitants getting to a county seat to transact legal business.[4] The area comprising the county was once part of Bath precinct, organized under the English Crown in 1696. It was at least 50 years after that before the area began to achieve more than meager settlement by European settlers. Until then it was the land of the Waccamaw Siouan Indians.[5]

Waccamaw Siouan Indian tribe

Today the Waccamaw Siouan Indians are one of eight state-recognized tribes. Their homeland territory is at the edge of Green Swamp in present-day Columbus County. Historically, the "eastern Siouans" had territories extending through the area of Columbus County prior to any European exploration or settlement in the 16th century.

English colonial settlement in what was known as Carolina did not increase until the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Following epidemics of new infectious diseases, to which indigenous peoples were exposed in trading and other contact, the Waccamaw and other Native Americans often suffered disruption and fatalities when caught between larger tribes and colonists in the Tuscarora and Yamasee wars. Afterward most of the Tuscarora people migrated north, joining other Iroquoian-speaking peoples of the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in New York State by 1722. At that point the leaders declared their migration ended and the tribe officially relocated to that area.

The Waccamaw Siouan ancestors retreated for safety to an area of Green Swamp near Lake Waccamaw.[6] Throughout the 19th century, the Waccamaw Siouan were seldom mentioned in the historical record. If descendants intermarried with whites and/or African Americans, their children were assumed to lose their Indian status, although they were often reared in Indian culture. Since North Carolina was a slave society, whites classified anyone with visible African features as slaves and blacks first.

In the post-Reconstruction period, after white Democrats regained dominance in politics, they emphasized white supremacy and classified all non-whites as black. For instance, Native Americans could not attend schools for white children. Toward the end of the century, the U.S. Census recorded common Waccamaw surnames among individuals in the small isolated communities of this area.[7]

In 1910, the Waccamaw officially established their earliest-known governmental body, named the Council of Wide Awake Indians. At a time of racial segregation in North Carolina schools, Native American children were grouped with African-American children as students. The Council sought to gain public funding for Indian schools, as the Lumbee (then known as Croatan Indians) had achieved elsewhere in the state in the late 19th century. They also hoped to gain federal recognition as a tribe. This was rare for landless Indians. Federal recognition had been associated with the treaty making that was related to land cessions and removal of Indians to reservations.

The Council opened its first publicly funded school in 1933, and founded others soon after. The Waccamaw and other Native Americans continued to have difficulty in getting state funding for schools. Minorities had been effectively disenfranchised in North Carolina since passage of a suffrage amendment in 1900 that created barriers to voter registration. The Council campaigned for federal recognition in 1940 during the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which promoted improving conditions for Native Americans. It had passed the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, which encouraged tribes to re-establish self-government.[7]

The name Waccamaw Siouan was first officially used in US government documents in 1949, when a bill intended to grant the tribe federal recognition was introduced in Congress by the representative of this district.[7] The bill was defeated in committee the following year. But changes in federal policy following Native American activism in the 1960s and 1970s enabled the Waccamaw to obtain more public funding and economic assistance even without federal recognition.[7]

The Waccamaw Siouan tribe gained recognition in 1971 by the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs as one of eight state-recognized tribes. The tribe organized as the Waccamaw Siouan Development Association (WSDA), a nonprofit group founded in 1972. The group is headed by a nine-member board of directors, elected by secret ballot in elections open to all enrolled tribal members over the age of 18. In addition, the board includes a chief, whose role is largely symbolic.[7]

Settlement

Some settlers came from Barbados up the Cape Fear River in search of land. Their home island was becoming overcrowded and these people came in search of new opportunities in a new frontier. Other early settlers came mostly from Britain, but a number of other nationalities were represented. Not to be overlooked are the number of freedmen from Virginia and northeastern North Carolina who settled in the area.

Most of the free African Americans of Virginia and North Carolina originated in Virginia where they became free in the seventeenth and eighteenth century before chattel slavery and racism fully developed in the colonies. In his book Free African Americans of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware, author Paul Heinegg said, "When they arrived in Virginia, Africans joined a society which was divided between master and white servant - a society with such contempt for white servants that masters were not punished for beating them to death in 1624. They joined the same households with white servants - working, eating, sleeping, getting drunk, and running away together." A number of Columbus families descend from slaves who were freed before the 1723 Virginia law which required legislative approval for manumissions. Many were landowners who were generally accepted by their white neighbors. Intermarriage between ethnic groups has produced a diverse population, with many descendants today not truly understanding their family history due to assumptions based on appearance.[8]

John Burgwin (1731-1803), colonial officer and merchant, left his native South Wales, England after his elder brother inherited their father's estate. Seeking his own fortune elsewhere, by early in 1750/51, Burgwin was employed as a merchant in Charleston, South Carolina with the firm of Hooper, Alexander and Company. The firm did business in Wilmington, and Burgwin apparently moved to the Cape Fear River area of North Carolina shortly thereafter. He built what is now known as the Burgwin-Wright house in Wilmington, which served as Lord Cornwallis' headquarters while he occupied the city in 1781. In addition to his Wilmington townhouse, Burgwin inherited from his wife the Hermitage Plantation and adjoining Castle Haynes Plantation. He also owned Marsh Castle at Lake Waccamaw in Columbus (then Bladen) County.[9]

At least two skirmishes of the American Revolution were fought on Columbus soil, one was the Battle of Seven Creeks near Pireway. After this battle, General Joseph Graham said "We fixed the wounded, buried the dead, and then marched to Marsh Castle and encamped on the White Marsh." The next day they learned of Cornwallis' surrender as they marched by Lake Waccamaw and joined Colonel Smith above Livingston Creek.[10]

The other skirmish was at Brown Marsh. General Graham wrote "The army continued to move down the Raft Swamp, from thence to Brown Marsh, where General Butler had had a battle with the British and Tories some weeks before, and encamped for several days near that place."[10] Bullets from this battle have been plowed up on a farm on the east side of the Brown Marsh.

Some of those who joined the Patriots:

  • Stephen Smith (1746-1784) who married Joanna Council (1753-1833), daughter of Capt James Council (1716-1804). Stephen is buried in Hallsboro, his grave marked with a Revolutionary War plaque. James Council was Paymaster of Troops, member of the Provincial Congress which sat at Halifax, North Carolina and Wilmington District Bladen County Regiment company commander at the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge.
  • William Norris (1766-1860), listed in the 1860 census as a "Farmer and Soldier of the American Revolution."
  • Coleman Nichols (1737-1825)
  • Elias Duncan (1750-1830), Militia, Wilmington District[11]

William Bartram, botanist from Pennsylvania, journeyed to Lake Waccamaw to study the flora and fauna of the region in the 1770s. William was the son of John Bartram, the first person to form a botanic garden for American plants in America. William chronicled his travels through the American South in his extensive and insightful book, Travels Through North & South Carolina, Georgia, East & West Florida..., published in 1791.[12]

Development

At the time of its creation, Columbus County was sparsely populated. The construction of a railroad along the Bladen-Columbus border in the 1860s spurred growth. The laying of the Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta Railroad later in the decade connected Whiteville with Wilmington and supported the development of strong lumber and naval stores industries.[13] Most white men in the county fought during the American Civil War, while most free blacks and mulattoes were exempted from service. The county was spared direct fighting, but the war demands stressed the local labor and food markets, and severe rains in 1863 diminished grain yields. Most residents resorted to trade via the barter system. After Wilmington fell to Union troops in February 1865, Union marauders sacked Whiteville.[14]

Firsts in Columbus County:

  • First bale of cotton grown in 1815 by Dr. Formy Duvall
  • First schoolhouse in Whiteville built shortly after the Civil War
  • First house in Chadbourn erected 1882
  • First mayor of Chadbourn was James B. Chadbourn, Jr.
  • First schoolhouse in Chadbourn built in 1886 by James H. Chadbourn, Jr.
  • First tobacco grown in county in 1896 by John Morley near Fair Bluff
  • First tobacco warehouse in 1896 at Fair Bluff
  • First strawberries for shipment grown in 1896 by Joseph A. Brown
  • First bank in the county was Bank of Whiteville in 1903[10]

COLCOR

From January 1979 through December 1982,[15] State and Federal investigators conducted Operation NC Gateway, an investigation into the activities of several elected officials in Brunswick and Columbus counties. Law enforcement seized 37 million dollars of illegal drugs, and arrested several leading citizens in the area. The scandal was labeled "COLCOR" in the press, shorthand for Columbus Corruption.[16] The federal investigation culminated in federal convictions of former Brunswick County Sheriff Herman Strong and former Shallotte Police Chief Hoyal Varnum Jr., among other government officials.[17] The 1983 street value of the narcotics in Strong and his co-conspirators’ criminal enterprise was $180 million.[18][19]

COLCOR's success was largely due to the deep undercover work by FBI Special Agent Robert Drdak. His testimony to the Grand Jury led to the arrest of a long list of prominent Brunswick and Columbus County citizens. In addition, former U.S. Attorney, Samuel Currin, was the force behind operations ColCor and Operation Gateway. The special investigative grand jury in Brunswick County indicted 22 persons,[18] and 35 were indicted in Columbus County.[15] Among those indicted were:[15][20][21]

  • Brunswick County Sheriff Herman Strong (numerous charges of conspiring to smuggle drugs, providing protection to drug smugglers, accepting bribes and two incidents of drug smuggling marijuana and methaqualone tablets). Strong was released from prison on June 17, 1987, after serving less than four years.[18]
  • Shallotte Police Chief Hoyal "Red" Varnum (conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 1,100 to 1,400 pounds of marijuana)
  • Hoyal's brother Steve Varnum (a past Chairman of the Brunswick County Commissioners),
  • Lake Waccamaw Police Chief L. Harold Lowery (racketeering in connection with taking $1,650 in bribes for protection money)
  • Former Columbus County Commissioner Edward Walton Williamson (who gave the undercover agent money to deal with Star News reporter Judith Tillman and send her back to Alabama)[22]
  • District Court Judge J. Wilton Hunt (racketeering and interstate gambling) A federal judge sentenced Hunt to 14 years in prison and a $10,000 for his role in the corruption ring.[18]
  • State Rep. G. Ronald Taylor, (burning three warehouses belonging to another state senator who was Taylor's competition in the farm-implement business)
  • Lt. Governor James C. Green (charged with taking a $2,000 bribe and conspiring to take $10,000 in bribes a month) [20][21] The jury found insufficient evidence for the charges and acquitted Green.[23]
  • NC State Senator R. C. Soles was indicted on federal charges of aiding and abetting a former Columbus County commissioner in obtaining bribes from undercover FBI agents, conspiracy, vote-buying and perjury, but these charges were later dismissed.[24]

A documentation of the corruption of Atlantic Packaging CEO Rusty Carter Archived September 3, 2021, at the Wayback Machine

Geography

Map
Interactive map of Columbus County

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 954 square miles (2,470 km2), of which 937 square miles (2,430 km2) is land and 16 square miles (41 km2) (1.7%) is water.[25] It is the third-largest county in North Carolina by land area. There are several large lakes within the county, including Lake Tabor and Lake Waccamaw.

One of the most significant geographic features is the Green Swamp, a 15,907-acre area in the north-eastern portion of the county. Highway 211 passes alongside it. The swamp contains several unique and endangered species, such as the venus flytrap. The area contains the Brown Marsh Swamp, and has a remnant of the giant longleaf pine forest that once stretched across the Southeast from Virginia to Texas.[26]

State and local protected areas

Major water bodies

Adjacent counties

Major highways

Major infrastructure

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18103,022—
18203,91229.5%
18304,1415.9%
18403,941−4.8%
18505,90949.9%
18608,59745.5%
18708,474−1.4%
188014,43970.4%
189017,85623.7%
190021,27419.1%
191028,02031.7%
192030,1247.5%
193037,72025.2%
194045,66321.1%
195050,62110.9%
196048,973−3.3%
197046,937−4.2%
198051,0378.7%
199049,587−2.8%
200054,74910.4%
201058,0986.1%
202050,623−12.9%
2021 (est.)50,092[27]−1.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[28]
1790-1960[29] 1900-1990[30]
1990-2000[31] 2010-2013[32]
2020[33]

2020 Census

Columbus County racial composition[34]
Race Number Percentage
White (non-Hispanic) 30,019 59.3%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 14,503 28.65%
Native American 1,670 3.3%
Asian 156 0.31%
Pacific Islander 10 0.02%
Other/Mixed 1,652 3.26%
Hispanic or Latino 2,613 5.16%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 50,623 people, 21,580 households, and 14,243 families residing in the county. The population of the two prisons are included in this total

2010 Census

As of the 2010 census, the population was 58,098.[32] Columbus County led the state in opioid pills per person from 2006 to 2012 averaging 113.5 pills per person per year.[35]

2005

In 2005 62.3% of the county population was White, 31.1% of the population was African-American, and 3.2% of the population was Native American. According to the 2010 census, 1,025 people in Columbus County self-identify as Waccamaw Siouan.[36] 2.8% of the population was Latino.

There were 21,308 households, out of which 31.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.80% were married couples living together, 15.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.40% were non-families. 26.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.70% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 24.40% from 45 to 64, and 13.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 92.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.40 males.

2003

The 2003 median income for a household in the county was $27,659, and the median income for a family was a little more than $33,800. Males had a median income of $28,494 versus $19,867 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,415. About 17.60% of families and 20.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.00% of those under age 18 and 25.50% of those age 65 or over.

2000 Census

As of the census[37] of 2000, there were 54,749 people, 21,308 households, and 15,043 families residing in the county. The population density was 58/sq mi (23/km2). As of 2004, there were 24,668 housing units at an average density of 26/sq mi (10/km2). The racial makeup for the county was 68.9% White, 23.1% Black or African American, 5.1% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 4.7% from other races, and 0.6% from two or more races. 2.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Government and politics

Columbus County is governed by a seven-member Board of Commissioners.[38] The county is represented in the North Carolina House of Representatives by District 46 and in the North Carolina Senate by District 8.[39] The county is a member of the regional Cape Fear Council of Governments, where it participates in area planning on a variety of issues.[40]

Throughout much of the 20th century, the Columbus County electorate regularly supported Republican presidential candidates and Democratic local and state candidates. Following the election of Democrat Barack Obama as U.S. president in 2008, Republicans' performance in local races markedly improved.[38] As of 2022, the county hosts about 36,200 registered voters, comprising about 15,344 registered Democrats, 10,100 registered Republicans and 10,700 unaffiliated.[39] Despite Democrats' registration advantage, only one unopposed Democrat was elected to office in the 2022 local general elections.[41]

United States presidential election results for Columbus County, North Carolina[42]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 16,832 63.65% 9,446 35.72% 168 0.64%
2016 14,272 60.14% 9,063 38.19% 397 1.67%
2012 12,941 53.38% 11,050 45.58% 252 1.04%
2008 12,994 53.51% 11,076 45.61% 212 0.87%
2004 10,773 50.84% 10,343 48.81% 75 0.35%
2000 8,342 45.28% 9,986 54.20% 97 0.53%
1996 6,017 36.96% 9,019 55.40% 1,244 7.64%
1992 5,462 28.88% 11,469 60.63% 1,985 10.49%
1988 6,659 41.93% 9,172 57.75% 51 0.32%
1984 9,150 51.11% 8,728 48.75% 26 0.15%
1980 5,522 34.64% 10,212 64.07% 206 1.29%
1976 3,184 22.11% 11,148 77.41% 69 0.48%
1972 8,468 70.64% 3,305 27.57% 214 1.79%
1968 3,881 26.19% 4,243 28.64% 6,693 45.17%
1964 4,471 33.18% 9,004 66.82% 0 0.00%
1960 3,655 25.90% 10,455 74.10% 0 0.00%
1956 2,300 22.76% 7,805 77.24% 0 0.00%
1952 3,001 30.19% 6,941 69.81% 0 0.00%
1948 1,105 15.00% 5,511 74.79% 753 10.22%
1944 1,552 21.35% 5,717 78.65% 0 0.00%
1940 934 13.67% 5,900 86.33% 0 0.00%
1936 1,214 16.03% 6,359 83.97% 0 0.00%
1932 739 12.55% 5,098 86.55% 53 0.90%
1928 3,533 55.32% 2,854 44.68% 0 0.00%
1924 1,629 36.92% 2,757 62.49% 26 0.59%
1920 1,783 36.43% 3,111 63.57% 0 0.00%
1916 1,327 38.22% 2,143 61.72% 2 0.06%
1912 155 5.71% 1,668 61.44% 892 32.85%

Columbus County Animal Shelter

Columbus County maintains an animal shelter at 288 Legion Drive in Whiteville, NC. It has been the subject of critics - both government regulators and animal welfare activists.[43] Problems have been reported in its operations for "years and years and years."[44] In the past, the shelter has been fined [45] and has been warned by state regulators for shortcomings on various issues.[46]

In September 2015, a new manager was hired to combat these issues,[47] and he announced an ambitious plan to improve the shelter. In late October 2015, WECT reported that conditions at the shelter were improving, highlighting a large donation from Austria that was made possible by coordination on Facebook. The story also enumerated changes that the new director had made to improve conditions. As of November 2015, the volunteers maintain a Facebook page showing the animals the shelter has available for adoption.[48]

Law enforcement

The Columbus County Sheriff's Office provides law enforcement services for the county as well as operating the Columbus County Detention Center.[49] There are two state prisons in the county, one at Tabor City, the Tabor City Correctional Institution, and one at Brunswick.[50]

In 2022 Sheriff Jody Greene was re-elected to office after resigning a couple weeks prior due to allegations of obstructing justice and racism.[51] District Attorney Jon David plans to file a new petition for his removal from office. Currently an investigation regarding him and The Columbus County Sheriff Office's actions is being carried out by North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.[52]

Economy

The economy of Columbus County centers on agriculture and manufacturing. Columbus farmers produce crops such as pecans and peanuts, along with soybeans, potatoes, and corn. Cattle, poultry, and catfish are other agricultural products in the county. Factories in the region produce textiles, tools, and plywood. Household products such as doors, furniture, and windows are also manufactured in Columbus.[53]

Carolina Southern stopped railroad service to the county in 2012, and efforts to restore service have proven difficult.[54] However, as of July 2014, positive developments were reported to return railroad service to the area, which was considered integral to spur economic development.[55]

in July 2014, Carolina Southern agreed to begin the process of allowing the counties of Horry County, South Carolina, Marion, South Carolina and Columbus County, NC to assume control of the area rail lines. The goal was to repair the railroad tracks and bridges through local governments and then to find a buyer to re-establish service to the area.[56] A public hearing on the matter was held on October 6, 2014.[57] During that meeting, the Columbus County Commissioners voted to support the initiative to restart rail service with a 10-year grant for the program. Some of the commissioners may not have revealed that they will benefit from the re-establishment of rail service.[58] The Horry County Council in October 2014 also voted to provide funding to reestablish railroad service to the area.[59] Although originally it was thought service could be restored as early as spring 2015,[60] however, the sale of the railroad was not completed until August, 2015 to R.J. Corman Railroad.[61][62] A new target date of February 2016 was announced, as millions of dollars are expected to be spent repairing the rail lines that have been idle since 2011.[63]

The county ranks low in state health rankings.[64]

Education

Columbus is one of the few counties in North Carolina that has two public school systems: one for the county, which mostly serves rural areas, and one for the city of Whiteville. Both are led by elected school boards.[41] The county maintains a system of six libraries. The first public library for the county opened in 1921.[65]

Communities

Cities

Map of Columbus County, North Carolina With Municipal and Township Labels

Towns

Townships

  • Bogue
  • Bolton
  • Bug Hill
  • Cerro Gordo
  • Chadbourn
  • Fair Bluff
  • Lees
  • Ransom
  • South Williams
  • Tatums
  • Waccamaw
  • Welch Creek
  • Western Prong
  • Williams
  • Whiteville

Census-designated places

Unincorporated areas

See also

References

  1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  2. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Columbus County, North Carolina". www.census.gov. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  3. ^ "Columbus leaders react to disappointing census results". The News Reporter. August 17, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 88.
  5. ^ Rogers, James A, ed. (1946). Columbus County, North Carolina 1946. Whiteville, North Carolina: The New Reporter.
  6. ^ William S. Powell, Encyclopedia of North Carolina (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006), 1170.
  7. ^ a b c d e Powell, Encyclopedia of North Carolina, 1170.
  8. ^ Heinegg, Paul (2009). "Free African Americans of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware". Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  9. ^ Lennon, Donald R. (1979). "John Burgwin". NCPedia. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  10. ^ a b c Rogers, Columbus County, North Carolina 1946
  11. ^ Roster of Soldiers from North Carolina in the American Revolution. Seeman Press, Durham, North Carolina: North Carolina Daughters of the American Revolution. 1932. p. 374.
  12. ^ Bartram, William (1791). Travels Through North & South Carolina, Georgia, East & West Florida, the Cherokee Country, the Extensive Territories of the Muscogulges, or Creek Confederacy, and the Country of the Chactaws; Containing An Account of the Soil and Natural Productions of Those Regions, Together with Observations on the Manners of the Indians. Philadelphia: James & Johnson.
  13. ^ Justesen 2012, pp. 4–5.
  14. ^ Justesen 2012, p. 12.
  15. ^ a b c "Operation N.C. Gateway stings Brunswick's former sheriff in early 80s | BrunswickBeacon.com". www.brunswickbeacon.com. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  16. ^ "COLCOR REDUX". crime.blogs.com. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  17. ^ "Operation N.C. Gateway stings Brunswick's former sheriff in early 80s". brunswickbeacon.com. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  18. ^ a b c d "Under investigation: A tale of three decades - BrunswickBeacon.com". brunswickbeacon.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  19. ^ "Crimes of the Cape Fear: FBI 'Colcor' sting uncovered hotbed of corruption in Southeastern North Carolina".
  20. ^ a b "COLCOR REDUX". CRIME REPORT. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  21. ^ a b AP (June 21, 1983). "GRAND JURY INDICTS LIEUT. GOV. GREEN OF NORTH CAROLINA". The New York Times. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  22. ^ Then, Scott Nunn Back. "1982: FBI arrests Waccamaw police chief, 20 others". Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  23. ^ "Political Grudges Are Nothing New". October 11, 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  24. ^ "Timeline of R.C. Soles' career". Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  25. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on January 12, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  26. ^ "Green Swamp Preserve". The Nature Conservancy. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  27. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Columbus County, North Carolina". www.census.gov. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
  28. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  29. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  30. ^ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  31. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  32. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
  33. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Columbus County, North Carolina". www.census.gov. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
  34. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  35. ^ "Columbus led state in opioid pills per person; Unsealed data reveals 'virtual road map to the opioid epidemic'". The News Reporter. July 30, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  36. ^ Commission on Indian Affairs, North Carolina Department of Administration. (2010). "Total Population by Tribe by County in North Carolina." "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  37. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  38. ^ a b Nagem, Sarah (November 3, 2022). "Shift to the GOP clouds local races in this rural NC county – especially for sheriff". Border Belt Independent. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  39. ^ a b Nagem, Sarah (April 20, 2022). "Columbus County voters will go to the polls in May. Here are some primary races to watch". Border Belt Independent. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  40. ^ "Home". Cape Fear Council of Governments. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  41. ^ a b Schofield, Ivey (November 18, 2022). "Push to elect Black candidates to Columbus County school boards was rejected by voters". Border Belt Independent. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  42. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
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  46. ^ a b "NCDA&CS Veterinary Division Animal Welfare Section Civil Penalties and Other Legal Issues". ncagr.gov. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
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  48. ^ "Log In or Sign Up to View". facebook.com. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
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Works cited

34°16′N 78°40′W / 34.26°N 78.67°W / 34.26; -78.67

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