The namesake of its own lush and sprawling pine forests, Southern Pines, NC is a quaint, vibrant community of strollable streets, historic homes, and the neighboring sandy soils of central North Carolina’s Sandhills. Settled around a mid-nineteenth century railroad that runs directly through town before extending the East Coast, Southern Pines was once a popular traveler’s stop amidst the shipment of their pine lumber cash crop. Today, the town of Southern Pines still prospers as a Carolina point-of-interest, with the iconic train station remaining central to both the town’s initial development as well as to its enduring charm.
Bordering the renowned green fairways of Pinehurst, America’s premier historic golf destination, Southern Pines, NC is a quintessential small-town community matured by its manifest history. The local prosperity is largely owed to James Boyd, a successful businessman of the railroad industry who established the 1,200-acre Weymouth estate as a personal vacation home; the Weymouth estate later became a host for literature’s greats, like F. Scott Fitzgerald and the young James Boyd himself.
The restored house and gardens of today’s Weymouth Center is now home to the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame, as well as numerous literary, musical, and cultural programs and tours. Roam the grounds before exploring the historic Campbell House that, today, is home to galleries showcasing a variety of artwork by local, regional, and national artists.
Contemporizing historic buildings is a unique and endearing array of shops and cafes that decorate the downtown streetscape. Central to downtown’s allure is the Sunrise Theater, one of North Carolina’s preeminent arts theaters; you can catch a film before window-shopping the stretch of locally-owned bookstores, cafes, and shops. Stop in local-favorite Sweet Basil for friendly faces and casual lunch fare, or peek into the neighboring Pinehurst area for heartier pub classics and live music at Dugans Pub.
Southern Pines, NC is a testament to southern small town development, offering modern-day quirk within the walls of its legendary, historic homes and downtown district. Prospering through the passage of time, Southern Pines remains a cultivated form of the very traveler’s stop that first motivated its establishment.
