Fayetteville, NC Summary

Fayetteville (population 124,000) is located off I-95, 52 miles south of Raleigh. Hiram Rhodes Revels (1822-1901), the first African- American to serve in the US Senate, was born free in Fayetteville, and the first major African-American fiction writer, Charles Waddell Chesnutt (1858-1932), moved here at the age of eight.

Fayetteville has numerous museums, galleries, and historic buildings. The Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry Armory and Museum honors the oldest Southern militia unit in continuous existence (1793).

The Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex explores regional history. The Airborne and Special Operations Museum reflects the town’s proximity to Fort Bragg, 9 miles to the northwest. The fort houses the Special Warfare Center, the US Army’s airborne combat units, along with the 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum and the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Museum.

Three historic buildings can be found at Heritage Square, which includes Sandford House (1800), the Oval Ballroom (1818) and the Baker-Haigh-Nimocks House (1804). Also of historic interest are the unique Market House (1832), the First Presbyterian Church (1832), and St John’s Episcopal Church (1833).

Fayetteville has via bus and train service and an airport.