Charles Ogburn Sanford. is the county seat. The countys early economy centered on agriculture. naval stores. and an iron works. Just prior to the Civil War in about 1853. the first commercial exploration of the areas coal veins was begun in the community of Egypt. now Cumnock. During the war. the coal was transported to Fayetteville on the Western Railroad. which had been built by slaves and immigrant Irish laborers. Once in Fayetteville. the coal was taken by boat on the Cape Fear River to the port of Wilmington. The Western Railroad extended to the town of Jonesboro. named after Col.
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