Tufts

At the turn of the century, when Tufts first developed Pinehurst into a health resort, a cry went out throughout the south to all “Negroes” - “there is work here”. They came to work, they came for land, and they came to live.

In the 111 years since Pinehurst was first urbanized, the African-American community of Jackson Hamlet has not been able to keep pace with its neighbor. Pinehurst with its lush, green golf courses draws thousands of visitors a year. They stay in the expensive rooms of the Carolina Hotel and the Holly Inn,, or play one of eight golf courses. Many residents of Jackson Hamlet or their ancestors have worked in Pinehurst. Some of them helped build it.

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Algonquin, Sioux and Cherokee Indians roamed the Sandhills following the buffalo. Few settled the area primarily due to the thick carpet of longleaf pine straw that made for hard travel and quick moving fires in the lightening season. When the Europeans discovered that longleaf pines were a good source of naval stores such as turpentine and tar, the trees in the area were quickly used up and cut down.