[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 25 (Tuesday, March 2, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2004-S2006]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

                                 ______
                                 

    SENATE RESOLUTION 307--HONORING THE COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND, NORTH 
 CAROLINA, ITS MUNICIPALITIES AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS AS THEY CELEBRATE 
            THE 250TH YEAR OF EXISTENCE OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY

  Mr. EDWARDS submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 307

       Whereas for thousands of years before the European settlers 
     arrived, Cumberland County's streams and forests were home to 
     native peoples who lived in the area, hunted, farmed, and 
     buried their dead;
       Whereas Cumberland County, 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;
       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 Cumberland, third son of 
     George II, King of England, an area which reflected a mixture 
     of ethnic and national backgrounds;
       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 on June 20, 1775, 13 months before the Declaration 
     of Independence, a group of Cumberland County'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, and a considerable 
     portion of the population, especially Highland Scots, were 
     staunchly loyal to the British Crown, among them was the 
     famous Scottish heroine Flora McDonald;
       Whereas African-American people, both slaves and free 
     citizens, were represented in the early population of 
     Cumberland County, and during the American Revolution several 
     of the county's free African-Americans fought for the patriot 
     cause; 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, the towns of Campbellton and Cross Creek 
     merged to become Fayetteville, the first town in the United 
     States named in honor of the Revolutionary War hero, Marquis 
     de Lafayette;
       Whereas in November 1789, the North Carolina General 
     Assembly voted to adopt and ratify the United States 
     Constitution 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

[[Page S2006]]

     in the United States, was chartered by the North Carolina 
     General Assembly in Fayetteville, it being the first State 
     university;
       Whereas in 1793, the Fayetteville Independent Light 
     Infantry Company was organized in Cumberland County; it has 
     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; it is now published daily and is 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 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 Confederate 
     arsenal and effectively bringing the county back into the 
     Union;
       Whereas in 1867, 7 visionary African-American citizens of 
     Cumberland County paid about $136 for 2 lots on Gillespie 
     Street and formed the self-perpetuating Board of Trustees of 
     the Howard School for the education of African-American 
     youth; this school later became Fayetteville State University 
     (FSU), which now offers 41 undergraduate programs, 22 
     graduate programs, and 1 doctoral program; FSU has 18 Central 
     Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) and 2 National 
     Collegiate Athletic Association (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 nickname, ``Babe'', bestowed 
     upon him while playing in Cumberland County;
       Whereas in 1918, Camp Bragg was established from lands 
     ceded from Cumberland County; it is now known as Fort Bragg, 
     home of the 18th Airborne Corps, the 82d Airborne Division, 
     and the United States Army Special Operations Command;
       Whereas 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 heritage 
     of Cumberland County;
       Whereas in 1919, Pope Army Airfield was established and 
     remained part of the Army Air Corps until 1947 when the 
     United States Air Force was established; it was 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 on November 1, 1956, Methodist College was 
     chartered 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, and awarded 
     associate's, bachelor's, or master's degrees in 57 majors and 
     concentrations; 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 
     comprehensive institution serving approximately 40,000 
     students annually, offering more than 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 prominent members of 
     the local bar and elected county officials; and
       Whereas Cumberland County and the municipalities of Falcon, 
     Fayetteville, Godwin, Hope Mills, Linden, Spring Lake, 
     Stedman, and 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
       Resolved, That the Senate honors the county of Cumberland, 
     North Carolina, its municipalities, and other community 
     partners for Cumberland County's 250th Anniversary 
     Celebration.

                          ____________________