Lumberton Downtown Stories

We will spend an afternoon diving into Lumberton’s past, where the Lumber River quietly carries centuries of secrets. We’ll dig into the roots of this place—its bold beginnings, proudest moments, and even the stories people would rather forget. From fearless founders to infamous scandals, Lumberton’s history twists and turns like the river under its bridges. Every town has tales, some shadowy, some shining, and together they give Lumberton its one-of-a-kind character.

Part one – The River and Founding of Lumberton

Over the years pen has been put to paper to capture the river in poetry the most notable from the first four decades of the 1900s are William Laurie Hill, Woodberry Lennon, Clara Johnson Marley and John Charles McNeill.

Dr. William Laurie Hill
Hill was born March 29, 1835 in Maxton, NC to William R. Hill and Sarah Simmons Hill. He was brother of Rev. Halbert G. Hill, long time pastor of the Maxton Presbyterian and Center Presbyterian Churches. The brothers’ book “Blue Bird Songs of Hope and Joy” was marketed as a collection of songs that are like a breath of spring from out Southland. William was referred to as the poet laurate of the North Carolina Press Association Editor of “Our Fatherless one” the newsletter of Barium Springs Presbyterian Orphanage. He died in November 1921 at the age of 86 and is buried in the Centre Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Maxton, NC. His poem Old Lumber River was printed in the January 16, 1908 issue of The Charlotte Observer.

Old Lumber River

Yes, thou art old. and generations past.
The Red man’s home was in thy forest’s vast.

Along thy current shot his swift canoe –

He knew each cove, and vapid-swamp and slough.

And in thy swamps, did he the wild game chase.

And in thy swamp, did he the wild game chase.

Arts of the finny tribe, he wisely knew –

And many well rewarded casts he threw.

Alone with nature dwelt these Redman there –

Hunting their game, the ‘possum, deer and bear –

While for some fancied cause, in vengeful wrath.

Their council held; they strike the dread war-path.

Years pass – and now we see the Scotch-man come,

To build along thy banks a thrifty home –

The Redman sees with awe, great clearing made

Upon the sandhills sloping to the glade.

The hunting grounds, now yield crops of maize –

And sheep and cattle in new pastures graze –

Before the woodman’s ax, the Redman flee,

Seeking some spot where white men may not be.

Vain hope! for savage men must now give place

To men of brawn, and brain, a sturdy race.

The poor Indian fades from mortal view –

No more to seek this haunt, that once he knew.

In all these changes. Lumber River flows

Her quiet way! And as each season goes

More people settle on her thrifty sod.

Rear homes and alters for Almighty God.

Flow gentle river, onward to the sea.

The good folk on try banks are loving thee.

True men and sages on thy sandhills dwell –

Not would some highland home suit them as well.

A son of thine, oft sweetly sung of the three,

And now he sleeps by creeping vine and tree

He lov’d so well: and thou shall hear no more –

The magic cadence of his skillful oar,

No more will he of “Lumber River” sing.

No more his soulful voice shall tell of spring

Along thy banks; or in thy “bonnie braes,”

Or charm us, with his sweet “October days.”

But now, as thou art flowing to the sea.

Thy voice is gently whispering to me.

Of him who sung those songs to nature true.

Songs rich with sympathy, and ever new.

Old River, ever dear to him – to me.

We loved thy lily pads, and every tree

Along they shady banks, nor would we sleep.

Where thou couldst – not o’er us thy vigil keep.

William Laurie Hill

Floral Manse, January 14^th, 1908


Clare Johnson Marley
Clare Johnson was born 1896 in Moore County, North Carolina but moved to Lumberton to attend school and be near her brother, Dr. Thomas C. Johnson who operated the Thomson Hospital after the death of Dr. Thompson. She lived with her sister Mrs. J.R. Poole on Water Street within sight of the Lumber River. After graduating from Flora Macdonald College, she began her 44-year teaching career in Lumber Bridge where she met her future husband. In 1917 she married Walter Ellis Marley, and they were parents of Margaret Modlin, Rebecca Moore, Morris Stephens and Walter Ellis Marley, Jr.

Her tribute to the Lumbee was published in the 1954-1955 National Poetry Anthology by Librarians and Teachers of the National Poetry Association.

Ever Onward Rolls the Lumbee

Ever Onward Rolls the Lumbee …*
‘Tis a serpent long, winding sluggishly
Through dense labyrinths of vines
And lowland mosses …
Dark and treacherous

With black waters rolling onward …
Ever onward toward the sea,
Countless whirlpools whirling
Restless quicksands sucking,
Green water snakes breaking the water …
Appearing and disappearing in capers turbulent …
Black water bugs darting here and there,
Long trailing mosses streaming out
From the limbs of gnarled Cypress trees,
Lacy junipers and venerable water oaks
Like an old man’s gray beard
In the frolicsome wind …
Marsh ducks feeding in the crab grasses
Along the water’s edge …
Wild geese flying southward,
Dark waters slapping the low banks,
A crane standing on one foot
Sleeping in the fading sunshine …
Churning waters.
Bull alligators fighting
Over the antiered stag
Trapper and struggling in quicksands
At the river’s edge.
The musical chirping of birds …
Bluebirds, cardinals, sparrows and thrush …
Foreboding hoots of an owl,
Screaming of the wildcat
On the track of the prey,
And the rushing of the wild boar
Through crackling sword grasses.
A crude raft of logs drifting down the river
Carrying two Croatans** sleeping
By wooden keys filled with moonshine***
Taken from a still
Hidden in the hollow of a giant oak
And loaded by the light of the moon …
Alligators slide down slimy banks
And follow the raft that rifts
On black waters that roll onward
Through dismal swamps,
Sea marches green,
Black waters of the Lumbee River
That move onward …
Ever onward toward the sea. Footnotes to the poem by Marley – *Lumbee River is a deep, winding and treacherous river in Robeson County, NC, **Croatans are Indians located in Robeson County and said to be the descendants of the Lost Colony that amalgamated with the Croatans when Governor John White failed to return with his ship of supplies 1589, ***Moonshine is illicitly distilled liquor.



John Charles McNeill
One of the most loved poets that wrote about the Lumber River was John Charles McNeill. McNeill the youngest child of Captain Duncan and Euphenia Livingston McNeill was born July 24, 1874 at his father’s farm Ellerslie near Wagram.

Sunburnt Boys

Down on the Lumbee river
Where the eddies ripple cool
Your boat, I know, glides stealthily
About some shady pool.
The summer’s heats have lulled asleep
The fish-hawk’s chattering noise,
And all the swamp lies hushed about
You sunburnt boys.

You see the minnow’s waves that rock
The cradled lily leaves.
From a far field some farmer’s song,
Singing among his sheaves,
Comes mellow to you where you sit,
Each man with boatman’s poise,
There, in the shimmering water lights,
You sunburnt boys.

I know your haunts:  each gnarly bole
That guards the waterside,
Each tuft of flags and rushes where
The river reptiles hide,
Each dimpling nook wherein the bass
His eager life employs
Until he dies — the captive of
You sunburnt boys.

You will not — will you? — soon forget
When I was one of you,
Nor love me less that time has borne
My craft to currents new;
Nor shall I ever cease to share
Your hardships and your joys,
Robust, rough-spoken, gentle-hearted
Sunburnt boys!

In May 1985 the Lumber River revealed one of its greatest secrets – a canoe dating back to 930 A.D. The 16.6 foot canoe made from yellow pine was pulled from the dark river waters near McNeill’s Bridge.

Part Two – A Walk Through Downtown