Location: NC 711 (Third Street) in Pembroke
County: Robeson
Original Date Cast: 1950
The institution long known as Pembroke State University had its beginnings as Croatan Normal School, established by the General Assembly on March 7, 1887. Hamilton McMillan (1837-1916) who represented Robeson County in the North Carolina House introduced the legislation “for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a school of high grade for teachers of the Croatan race in North Carolina.” The school moved to its present location in 1909. Once primarily an all-Indian school, associated with the Lumbee tribe, the university today serve a multi-racial student body.
Pembroke State University officially became part of the University of North Carolina on July 1, 1972, as a result of consolidation leading to the creation of a sixteen-campus system. The name changed to University of North Carolina at Pembroke became official on July 1, 1996.
In 1972 a campaign to save “Old Main,” the white-pillared centerpiece of the campus. The building, a symbol of Indian education and social progress, was restored in 1979. An arrowhead monument erected by J. Hampton Rich of Mocksville stands in front of the building, which remains a campus icon.
References:
David K. Eliades, Pembroke State University: A Centennial History (1986)
Public and Private Laws of North Carolina, 1887
New York Times, May 10, 1972
University of North Carolina at Pembroke website: https://www.uncp.edu/