IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 517
Honoring the County of Cumberland, North Carolina, its municipalities and 
community partners as they celebrate the 250th year of the existence 
of Cumberland County. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 4, 2004
Mr. MCINTYRE (for himself, Mr. HAYES, and Mr. ETHERIDGE) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Government 
Reform 
RESOLUTION 
Honoring the County of Cumberland, North Carolina, its 
municipalities and community partners as they celebrate 
the 250th year of the existence of Cumberland County.
Whereas for thousands of years before European settlers ar-
rived, Cumberland County’s streams and forests were 
home to native peoples who lived in the area, hunted, 
farmed, and buried their dead; 
Whereas Cumberland, located at the head of navigation on 
the Cape Fear River quickly became a strong area of 
trade between the port city of Wilmington and the lower 
Cape Fear River to the southeast and the Carolina back 
country to the west;
•HRES 517 IH 
Whereas the upper Cape Fear Valley in present Cumberland 
County experienced an early migration of Highland Scots 
beginning in 1739, many of whom settled in the area 
known as ‘‘The Bluff’’ along side the Cape Fear River 
4 miles south of the Lower Little River; 
Whereas in 1754 the area known as Cumberland County was 
formed from lands carved from Bladen County and was 
named in honor of William Augustus, Duke of Cum-
berland, third son of George II, King of England, an area 
which reflected a mixture of ethnic and national back-
grounds; 
Whereas each municipality was individually chartered: Falcon 
in 1913; Fayetteville in 1762; Godwin in 1905; Hope 
Mills in 1891, Linden in 1913; Spring Lake in 1951; 
Stedman in 1913; and Wade in 1913; 
Whereas in 1775 on June 20th, 13 months before the Dec-
laration of Independence, a group of Cumberland Coun-
ty’s active patriots signed ‘‘The Association’’ later called 
the ‘‘Liberty Point Resolves’’; a document that vowed to 
‘‘Go forth and be ready to sacrifice our lives and fortunes 
to secure her freedom and safety’’; a marker at the point 
lists the signers of ‘‘The Association’’; 
Whereas the period of the American Revolution was a time 
of divided loyalties in Cumberland County, a considerable 
portion, especially Highland Scots were staunchly loyal to 
the British Crown, among them was the famous Scottish 
heroine Flora McDonald; 
Whereas Black people, both slaves and free Black citizens 
were represented in the early population of Cumberland 
County, and during the American Revolution several of 
the county’s free Blacks fought for the patriot cause;
•HRES 517 IH 
among the notables was the midwife Aunt Hannah Mallet 
(1755–1857) who died at the age of 102; she delivered 
hundreds of babies in her lifetime, and she typified the 
courage and vital role of the early 19th-century African-
American community; 
Whereas in 1783 when the towns of Campbellton and Cross 
Creek merged to become Fayetteville, named in honor of 
the Revolutionary War hero, Marquis de Lafayette; the 
first American town named after him; 
Whereas in 1789, November, the North Carolina General As-
sembly voted to adopt and ratify the United States Con-
stitution at the Market House in Fayetteville then known 
as the State House; 
Whereas in 1789, the University of North Carolina, the first 
State University charted in the United States, was char-
tered by the North Carolina General Assembly in Fay-
etteville, it being the first State university; 
Whereas in 1793, The Fayetteville Independent Light Infan-
try Company was organized in Cumberland County, with 
the distinction of being the oldest military unit in the 
South in continuous existence; 
Whereas in 1816, the Fayetteville Observer was founded as 
a weekly newspaper, now published daily, it being North 
Carolina’s oldest newspaper still in publication; 
Whereas in 1825, the Marquis de Lafayette visited the city 
named for him and stayed in the McRae family home 
that once stood on the site of the Historic Courthouse on 
Gillespie Street in Fayetteville; 
Whereas in 1831, the Great Fire destroyed the State House 
(the Market House) and many other buildings and actu-
•HRES 517 IH 
ally caused more damage than the 1871 Chicago Fire or 
the 1906 San Francisco earthquake; 
Whereas in 1865, General William T. Sherman brought the 
Union Army to Cumberland County, destroying the Con-
federate arsenal and effectively bringing the county back 
into the Union; 
Whereas in 1867 7 visionary Black citizens of Cumberland 
County paid about $136.00 for 2 lots on Gillespie Street 
and formed the self-perpetuating Board of Trustees of 
the Howard School for the education of Black youth; this 
School later became Fayetteville State University (FSU) 
now offering 41 undergraduate, 22 graduate degree pro-
grams, and 1 doctoral program; and FSU has 18 CIAA 
and 2 NCAA championships; 
Whereas in 1914, Babe Ruth, the New York Yankee great, 
hit his first homerun as a professional at the old ballpark 
on Gillespie Street in Cumberland County, and in doing 
so, the 19-year-old ‘‘babe’’ so amazed the crowd, that 
George Herman Ruth was forever known by the nick-
name, ‘‘Babe’’, bestowed upon him while playing in Cum-
berland County; 
Whereas in 1918, Camp Bragg was established from lands 
ceded from Cumberland County; now known as Fort 
Bragg, home of the 18th Airborne Corps, the 82nd Air-
borne Division and Special Operations Command. Fort 
Bragg was named for North Carolina native Lt. General 
Braxton Bragg; Fort Bragg soldiers and their families 
continue to be an integral part of the history and herit-
age of Cumberland County; 
Whereas in 1919, Pope Army Airfield was established; Pope 
remained part of the Army Air Corps until 1947 when
•HRES 517 IH 
the United States Air Force was established, home to the 
43d Airlift Wing and the 18th Air Support Operations 
Group; Pope airmen and their families continue to be an 
integral part of the history and heritage of Cumberland 
County; 
Whereas in 1956, November 1, Methodist College was char-
tered as a senior coeducational liberal arts college; it has 
grown to more than 2,100 students who hail from 48 
states and 30 countries; graduated 8,145 students; 
awarding associate’s, bachelor’s or master’s degrees in 57 
majors and concentrations; and Methodist College NCAA 
Division III athletic teams have earned 24 national 
championship titles; 
Whereas in 1961, Fayetteville Technical Community College 
(FTCC) was founded as the Fayetteville Area Industrial 
Education Center, with a faculty and staff of 9 people 
serving 50 students, and has since evolved into a com-
prehensive institution serving approximately 40,000 stu-
dents annually, offering over 121 programs; 
Whereas Cumberland County’s 6th courthouse, circa 1924, 
which is listed on the National Register of Historic 
Places is being established and dedicated, pursuant to the 
County’s 250th Anniversary, as a gallery of early promi-
nent members of the local bar and elected county offi-
cials; and 
Whereas Cumberland County and the municipalities of Fal-
con, Fayetteville, Godwin, Hope Mills, Linden, Stedman, 
Wade along with civic groups, private businesses and 
military partners are joining together to celebrate 250 
years of history, culture and diversity; the celebration will 
take place March 26–28, 2004: Now, therefore be it
•HRES 517 IH 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives honors 
the County of Cumberland, North Carolina, its municipali-
ties and other community partners for Cumberland Coun-
ty’s 250th Anniversary Celebration.
Æ