Red Springs, North Carolina

Red Springs is a town in Robeson County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 3,428 at the 2010 census.GeographyRed Springs is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.8 square miles . None of the area is covered with water.HistoryLong before the city of Red Springs was incorporated in 1885 from its former name of Dora Post Office, it is known that one of the first settlers in this community was named Hector McNeill, known as "Sailor Hector" McNeill. It is not known exactly how he got his nickname but he is found using it in Bladen County tax lists of 1771 (Red Springs is in Robeson County which was formed from Bladen County in 1787). "Sailor Hector" McNeill's home was at the top of the hill on the edge of the McNeill cemetery in town, and he and his wife Mary are buried there in unmarked graves.In the decades before the Civil War up into the early 20th century the community was known as "The Springs," and became a popular spa and resort in the mid-19th century. People of that time came from all parts to sample the sweet, iron-rich water and stay at the hotel there built before 1854 by Malcolm C. McNeill, the grandson of "Sailor Hector." A letter from a native of the area living in Mississippi dated 1854 mentions that "Red Springs" had a store. From that time and far beyond its incorporation in 1885, Red Springs grew a great deal.Between 1896 and 1915, Red Springs could boast of having within the town itself a military school for boys as well as the Southern Conservatory of Music for girls from all over the country. The military school is long gone, but in time the Conservatory became Flora McDonald College, known today as Flora McDonald Academy, a private day school. Red Springs has always had a high regard for education for its citizenry; indeed, the region was settled by Scottish immigrants before the Revolution who brought their respect for education with them. Log house schools were numerous in the area. In the 1840s, Floral College for young women was established a few miles south of town by a local lawyer, John Gilchrist, Jr. of Mill Prong House. The school operated until the Civil War, reopened afterward, but closed its doors around 1870.