LUMBERTON

city, seat of Robeson county, southern North Carolina, U.S., on Lumber (Lumbee) River. Founded in 1787 by Captain (later General) John Willis, a Revolutionary War officer, it began as a shipping point for lumber and naval supplies floated downriver to Georgetown, S.C. The city's economic development has been based on tobacco curing, textile manufacture, and the marketing of farm produce. Pembroke, 11 miles (18 km) northwest, is a centre of Croatan (Lumbee) Indian settlement. Pembroke State University (1887) began as an Indian educational centre, but after 1953 it was opened to all races. Inc. 1852. Pop. (1990) 18,601.