Pembroke, North Carolina

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.3 square miles (6.0 km²), all land.

In 1860, there existed Campbell's Mill in Robeson County. That year the Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad constructed an east–west line through the area, but no strong community developed and no train station was erected, probably due to the proximity of the larger communities of Moss Neck and Pates.[9] In 1892, the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad proposed building a north–south line through Moss Neck, but at the opposition of a prominent citizen the line was moved a few miles west to Campbell's Mill. A train station was erected, and the Atlantic Land and Improvement Company plotted one square mile of streets centered around it. Lots were sold to private holders and the community quickly became a center for commerce.[10]

In 1895 the community's population stood at approximately 150 residents.[11] It was incorporated that year as the town of Pembroke, named for railway worker Pembroke Jones. In 1909 the Croatan Normal School was moved there.[12] The earliest buildings in the community were made of wood, with awnings built to cover their entrances. The first brick building was erected in 1922. Around that time, Pates Supply Company, a general store, was established and became the largest business in Pembroke. A highway was established in 1923 along the east–west railroad, and the first street was paved in 1932.[13] Pembroke became a center for Lumbee commercial activity, though most kept to the rural areas of the county.[14] Due to their predominance in the community, the town lacked strict adherence to many Jim Crow norms common in the South in early 20th century.[15]

Under the town's incorporating act, its citizens elected a mayor and a board of commissioners every year. Politically, the town fell under the control of its white minority, though by 1917 the Lumbee community had grown rapidly and was challenging this state of affairs. A white delegation went to Raleigh and petitioned the North Carolina General Assembly to alter the act. Under the new system, the Governor of North Carolina appointed the mayor and the commissioners. Due to an informal agreement the town usually had two Lumbee commissioners and two white commissioners under a white mayor. In 1945 a group of Lumbees petitioned the governor to support democratic reform in the municipal government. Two years later, the town returned to an elected government and Pembroke chose its first Lumbee mayor.[16]

The Old Main building at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and Pembroke High School, Former are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[17]

Pembroke is the tribal seat of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, the largest state-recognized tribe east of the Mississippi River. It is the largest state-recognized tribe that does not have a reservation. The origin of the Lumbee has been disputed historically, as the people are multi-tribal. Some tribes migrated from neighboring counties and states. In the 1950s, those who identified as Native American chose the name Lumbee, after what is now known as the Lumber River.

Pembroke is home to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, a master's level degree-granting university and one of the 17 schools that comprise the University of North Carolina system. It was incorporated within the University of North Carolina system in 1972 and officially became the University of North Carolina at Pembroke in 1996. UNC Pembroke's enrollment is 7,667 as of fall 2022. With an 18:1 student-to-faculty ratio, the average class size is 20. Pembroke is the safest campus among the UNC schools according to the U.S. News & World Report and is among the nation's most diverse. According to their motto, it's "Where learning gets personal."

• Nate Andrews, former MLB pitcher and 1944 All-Star selection
• Chris Chavis, professional wrestler better known as "Tatanka" in the WWE
• Harold Collins, former World's Strongest Native American.
• Lee McRae, NCAA national champion sprinter and 1987 World champion in the 4x100 meter relay[18]
• Mike McRae, long jumper who represented the United States at the 1984 Summer Olympics[19]
• Ruth Revels, American Indian Activist and educator[20]
• Kelvin Sampson, college basketball head coach

• The Lowry War

• Dial, Adolph L.; Eliades, David K. (1996). The Only Land I Know: A History of the Lumbee Indians (1st Syracuse University Press ed.). Syracuse: Syracuse University Press. ISBN 9780815603603.
• Lowery, Malinda Maynor (2010). Lumbee Indians in the Jim Crow South: Race, Identity, and the Making of a Nation. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-3368-1.

• Official website of Pembroke, NC