Fayetteville Trivia1754: Cumberland County is carved from Bladen County.1762: Campbellton is established on the Cape Fear River near the mouth of Cross Creek. 1783: Campbellton becomes Fayetteville in honor of the Marquis deLafayette 1789: The Constitutional convention meets in Fayetteville, and the University of North Carolina is chartered. 1831: 'The Great Fire' destroys many Fayetteville buildings, including the State House. 1832: The Market House, Fayetteville’s signature building, is built. In 1974, the building is dedicated as a National Historic Landmark. 1845: The second major fire strikes downtown Fayetteville, destroying 53 buildings. 1865: Gen. William T. Sherman and his army burn the U.S. Arsenal and destroy many businesses and homes in Fayetteville. 1902: The first automobile is seen on Fayetteville streets. 1904: The first mail carriers for free delivery make their rounds, and it costs 2 cents to mail a letter. 1907: The Cape Fear River floods up to the Market House. 1914: George Herman 'Babe' Ruth hits his first professional home run at the Cumberland County Fairgrounds on Gillespie Street. 1918: Camp Bragg, which later becomes Fort Bragg, is established. 1941: President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor, visit Fayetteville and Fort Bragg The first United Service Club (USO) in the United States opens on Ray Avenue in Fayetteville Bragg Boulevard, a road connecting Fayetteville to Fort Bragg, is completed. 1954: Hurricane Hazel causes major destruction in the area. 1955: Eutaw Village Shopping Center on Bragg Boulevard, Fayetteville's first shopping center, opens. 1962: Hamburger chains arrive in Fayetteville when Hardee’s and McDonald’s open on Bragg Boulevard. 1983: Demolition of the bars and clubs on the 500 block of Hay Street begins. 1990: Thousands of Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base troops deploy to the Persian Gulf. Fox Triple Drive In, Bragg Boulevard, the last drive-in theater in Fayetteville, closes. The Capitol department store closes after 77 years of business, downtown Hay street. 2001: Portions of Fort Bragg are closed to civilians after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Fayetteville is one of 10 cities named an All-America City. 2002: A fire, one of the largest in years, destroys the USO building on Ray Avenue in Fayetteville. In its heyday, it was the largest USO in the world. 2003: Though Saddam Hussein is captured and control of Iraq is turned over to an Iraqi regime, thousands of soldiers and airmen remain in the Middle East and Afghanistan. 2004: Cumberland County celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding in 1754, when 2,400 square miles were carved from the Bladen County backcountry. The 3.5-mile Cape Fear River Trail, which stretches from the Jordan Soccer Complex near Methodist College to Clark Park, opens. |
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