[6] Suburban areas of metro Fayetteville include Fort Bragg, Hope Mills, Spring Lake, Raeford, Pope Field, Rockfish, Stedman, and Eastover.

Two inland settlements, Cross Creek and Campbellton, were established by Scots from Campbeltown, Argyll and Bute, Scotland.

Merchants in Wilmington wanted a town on the Cape Fear River to secure trade with the frontier country.

They were afraid people would use the Pee Dee River and transport their goods to Charleston, South Carolina.

[10][11] In 1783, Cross Creek and Campbellton united, and the new town was incorporated as Fayetteville in honor of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, a French military hero who significantly aided the American forces during the war.

The vast majority of Highland Scots, recent immigrants, remained loyal to the British government and rallied to the call to arms from the Royal Governor.

In late June 1775, residents drew up the "Liberty Point Resolves," which preceded the Declaration of Independence by a little more than a year.

It said, "This obligation to continue in full force until a reconciliation shall take place between Great Britain and America, upon constitutional principles, an event we most ardently desire; and we will hold all those persons inimical to the liberty of the colonies, who shall refuse to subscribe to this Association; and we will in all things follow the advice of our General Committee respecting the purposes aforesaid, the preservation of peace and good order, and the safety of individual and private property."

It was the site in 1789 for the state convention that ratified the U.S. Constitution, and for the General Assembly session that chartered the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Henry Evans (circa 1760–1810), a free black preacher, is locally known as the "Father of Methodism" in the area.

Downtown Fayetteville was the site of a skirmish, as Confederate Lt. Gen. Wade Hampton and his men surprised a cavalry patrol, killing 11 Union soldiers and capturing a dozen on March 11, 1865.

During the late nineteenth century, North Carolina adopted Jim Crow laws that imposed racial segregation.

Construction was fast-paced as shopping developments, and suburban subdivisions began to spread outside the Fayetteville city limits toward Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base.

Anti-war protests in Fayetteville drew national attention because of Fort Bragg, a city that generally supported the war.

The era also saw an increase in crime and drug addiction, especially along Hay Street, with media giving the city the nickname "Fayettenam".

[17] At this time, Fayetteville also made headlines after Army doctor Jeffrey R. MacDonald murdered his pregnant wife and two daughters in their Ft. Bragg home in 1970; the book and movie Fatal Vision were based on these events.

To combat the dispersal of suburbanization, Fayetteville has worked to redevelop its downtown through various revitalization projects; it has attracted large commercial and defense companies such as Purolator, General Dynamics and Wal-Mart Stores and Distribution Center.

In 2005, Congress passed the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Act, resulting in several new commands relocating to Fort Bragg.

[20] In December 2015, Fayetteville unveiled the Guinness World Record for the biggest Christmas stocking, weighing approximately 1,600 pounds (730 kg), and measuring 74.5 x 139 feet.

[21] Fort Bragg and Pope Army Airfield Field are in the northern part of the city of Fayetteville.

Soldiers tested the Army's new bantam car, soon known as the Jeep, although most of the power to move artillery still came from horses and burros.

On September 12, 1940, the Army contracted to expand the post, bringing the 9th Infantry Division to Fort Bragg.

The central entity at Pope is now the Air Force Reserve, although they still have a small number of active personnel.

Time magazine recognized Fayetteville for its support of military families and identified it as "America's Most Pro-Military Town".

[42] Hundreds of houses of worship have been established in and around Cumberland County, including Catholic, Baptist, Pentecostal, Methodist and Presbyterian churches, which have the largest congregations.

Fayetteville is home to St. Patrick Church, the oldest Catholic parish in the state, dating back to the 18th century.

[45] Additionally, a historical marker to ibn Said was cast along Murchison Road in 2010,[46] the first roadside in North Carolina to recognize a Muslim.

Fort Bragg and Pope Field pump about $4.5 billion a year into the region's economy,[48] making Fayetteville one of the best retail markets in the country.

Fayetteville serves as the region's hub for shops, restaurants, services, lodging, health care, and entertainment.

[51] Eight of the ten top American defense contractors are located in the area, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, and L-3 Communications.