History of the county and area

Robeson was formed in 1787 from Bladen County. It was named in honor of Colonel Thomas Robeson, a soldier of the Revolution. He was one of the leaders at the battle of Elizabethtown which was fought in September 1781. The present land area is 948.84 square miles and the 2000 population was 123,245. The courthouse was erected on land which formerly belonged to John Willis. A lottery was used to dispose of the lots and to establish the town. In 1788, Lumberton was established and is the county seat.

County is bordered by Cumberland County (northeast), Bladen County (east), Columbus County (southeast), Dillon County, SC (southwest), Marlboro County, SC (west), Scotland County (northwest), Hoke County (northwest) . The county is divided into twenty-nine townships: Alfordsville, Back Swamp, Britts, Burnt Swamp, East Howellsville, Fairmont, Gaddy, Lumber Bridge, Lumberton, Maxton, Orrum, Parkton, Pembroke, Philadelphus, Raft Swamp, Raynham, Red Springs, Rennert, Rowland, Saddletree, Shannon, Smiths, Smyrna, St. Pauls, Sterlings, Thompson, Union, West Howellsville, Whitehouse, and Wishart. Cities, Towns and Communities include Barker Ten Mile, Elrod, Fairmont, Lumber Bridge, Lumberton, Marietta, Maxton, McDonald, Orrum, Parkton, Pembroke, Proctorville, Prospect, Raemon, Raynham, Red Springs, Rennert, Rex, Rowland, Shannon, St. Pauls .