Red Springs, NC

Red Springs is a Robeson County town in the upper coastal plain, named for the rust-colored sediment left by iron- and sulfur-rich spring water. The 2020 census counted 3,087 residents. The town's first known settler, Hector McNeill, received land covering the present community in 1775, and the springs later helped turn the place into a health resort before roads, schools, and businesses took over the everyday story. The town's name came from the water itself, plain as day.

Education is the thread that gives Red Springs its distinctive history. Between 1896 and 1915, the town had a military school for boys and a conservatory of music for girls. That institution became Flora MacDonald College, named for the Scottish heroine associated with the region, and its campus remains part of the town's memory. Today, North Carolina Highways 211 and 71 meet along North Main Street, while town parks, baseball fields, and Flora Macdonald Gardens keep the old college town connected to current routines.