Area Information and History

Pinehurst History

Tufts enlisted the landscape architectural firm of Frederick Law Olmstead, creator of Central Park in New York, and described this dream.  Seven months and 200,000 trees and shrubs later Pinehurst Village stood among the slender pines and rolling Sandhills of North Carolina.

In the first years, Pinehurst was a place for quiet walks through the whispering woods, concerts on the village green and hayrides through the hills.  This was a place where well-to-do New Englanders treated themselves to mineral spring water and the encompassing serenity.  The Pinehurst golf legend began in 1897 when a Pinehurst dairyman complained to Mr. Tufts that a guest of the hotel was striking a little white ball about and often hitting the dairyman's cows.  A year later Tufts saw to it that Pinehurst had its own nine-hole golf course.

Donald Ross was commissioned by Tufts to organize golf in Pinehurst.  Thus began a career of 48 years during which Ross designed some 600 courses in the United States.  Ross spent the rest of his life a resident of Pinehurst and built the first four Pinehurst courses.  In 1961, Ellis Maples added a fifth course; all courses were designed to begin and end at the clubhouse which has the Pinehurst Country Club.  Mention No. 2 at Pinehurst and pros will wax nostalgic with tales of triumph and frustration over its rolling expanse.

Ross himself said of No. 2, ... "I sincerely believe this course to be the fairest test of championship golf that I have ever designed".  Sam Snead, an original inductee into the PGA/World Golf Hall of Fame, said, "I have always rated Pinehurst Number Two as my Number One Course".  Ben Hogan, another original inductee into the Hall of Fame, won his first professional tournament on Pinehurst No. 2.

Thanks to Donald Ross' creative genius and love of the game, the Pinehurst Country Club is now respected worldwide as America's counterpart to St. Andrew's.

With such expert guidance, Pinehurst easily became the sport and relaxation center of the East Coast.  Guests from around the world came to take in the scenery and indulge their tastes at the Carolina Hotel, now totally refurbished.  The Tufts family was determined that Pinehurst be as unusually enjoyable for residents as vacationers.  The community grew with structures like the Women's Exchange, a museum which still perpetuates the arts and crafts of the region, and First Health of the Carolinas which initiated a history of advanced medical care for the area.

In the mid-seventies, Pinehurst developed a New Members Club and a sixth golf course, designed by one of the game's most admired architectural teams, George and Tom Fazio.  A seventh course, designed by Rees Jones, would follow in 1986.  This already highly regarded course is surrounded by the magnificent, private Fairwood-On-Seven community.

In a way, Pinehurst is today what it was in 1920: the antithesis of the hustle and bustle of the business world, a solitary island of natural beauty devoted exclusively to recreation and comfort.

Population

Moore County is continually growing.  The county's population in 1990 was 59,013 and was projected to be 73,234 by the year 2000.

1997 Census Projections by Towns are:

Geography

The area is approximately 700 square miles. 

Government

Moore County has a five-member elected Board of Commissioners.  The commissioners elect the chairman and hire the county manager.  All municipalities have elected town councils and mayors.  Towns of Aberdeen, Pinehurst and Southern Pines have town managers.

Education

The Moore County Public School System has 20 public schools, with a pupil-teacher ratio of 23 to 1 K-1, 26 to 1 1 through 9 and 28 to 1 grades 10 through 12.  It ranks 68th out of 119 administrative units in the amount of money spent on each pupil, about $4,830 a year.  The teacher turnover is about 10 percent as compared to the national average of 20 percent.  Schools are divided into elementary (kindergarten - grade 5), middle (6-8) and high school.  The three high schools, in the northern, central and southern parts of the county, have a total enrollment of about 3,000.

Communities and Towns

Moore County has an unusual combination of cosmopolitan lifestyle and small town charm.  We know you will find yourself at  home in one of our communities.

Taxes

The state has a 6% sales tax and an income tax ranging from 6% to 7.75% depending on income and individual classification.  $.05 per $100 is charged for the countywide Advance Life Support System.  The real estate tax rate, based on 100% of assessed value, is $.54 per $100 for the county, with municipalities; rates ranging from $.27 to $.68.  There is no school tax in North Carolina