Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High 83F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph..

Clear skies. Low 58F. Winds light and variable.

Home construction in Carthage across from Peak Resources - Pinelake in Carthage on Pinehurst Ave. Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot

Home construction in Carthage across from Peak Resources - Pinelake in Carthage on Pinehurst Ave. Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot

Micah Niebauer at his new Southern Pines Brewing Co. taproom at the corner of West Pennsylvania Avenue and North Bennett Street. Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot

Southern Pines Brewing Company plans to turn the Buggy Building into a brewery and restaurant. The plans include removing the old Dean's Gold N Guns structure to free up green space for concerts, open-air seating, and events. 

(Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)

Home construction in Carthage across from Peak Resources - Pinelake in Carthage on Pinehurst Ave. Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot

Carthage has had an identity crisis of sorts for a very long time.

Long living within the shadow of its more prosperous and populated southern sisters of Aberdeen, Pinehurst and Southern Pines, Carthage has soldiered on through the years largely content to be the county seat. While it was the place to do legal and government business from 9-5, it rarely has seen anything akin to action after 5 p.m., save for the annual nighttime Christmas parade.

But over the past couple of years, activity has slowly taken hold, and in the past year it’s been picking up speed: new businesses, new homes, new vision.

Then came news this past week that Southern Pines Brewing owner Micah Niebauer intends to buy the town’s ancient and iconic buggy factory and turn it into a brewery and a gathering spot has set Carthage tongues wagging — and licking more than a few lips.

Southern Pines Brewing Company plans to turn the Buggy Building into a brewery and restaurant. The plans include removing the old Dean's Gold N Guns structure to free up green space for concerts, open-air seating, and events. 

This is a government town starved for good lunch options, a place where the glow of downtown lights comes from the county detention center and bail bonds business across the street. News of a McDonald’s opening set the town twittering a few years ago.

Carthage Auto Glass is full of the kind of guys that would likely enjoy craft beer, but they also like walking around, enjoying the town.

“We are all waiting in anticipation,” shop employee Bobby Litzinger said. “Bring it on. We will be good supporters.”

Moore County was formed just after the American Revolution because its predecessor, which included parts of modern-day Cumberland County, was too big. Moore was new, rural and completely undeveloped — not really a recipe for being the cool kid. Even county business had to be held in homes in the early days.

This was during the time that many beautiful courthouses built in the Georgian style were well-known and scattered across the South.

The new leaders did agree on a semi-permanent location — Mr. Fagan’s house, about a mile from Carthage’s current courthouse square — and called this settlement Fagansville.

People complained. Eleven pages of names petitioned to move and change the county seat to Alfredson. That didn’t work either. In 1796, the General Assembly insisted that Moore County get its act together and get an official county seat within two miles of the county center.

Mr. Fagan gave the county his property. It was named Carthage — until the General Assembly officially changed the name to Fagansville. But someone either forgot or just never changed the post office name. So 12 years later, the General Assembly gave up and changed it back to Carthage.

A lot happened between 1818 and today, but the biggest economic boom Carthage ever saw was the creation and flourishing of the Tyson and Jones Buggy Co., which manufactured a variety of horse-drawn carriages.

The internal combustion engine put an end to the buggy, and a horrific fire essentially put an end to the factory, though it continued on for a time.

In the end, a bankruptcy sale unloaded, among other things, “kitchen tables, mirrors, swings and a feed-glue jointer” to creditors.

The town still had its government business. The courthouse was still the place to see and be seen, to record land sales, sue someone or buy farm equipment. The town still supported a variety of businesses over the years, but even those slowly faded with the years. Today, even though N.C. 24-27 runs through the heart of the town and circulates around the courthouse square, the pace can still feel Mayberry quiet at times — but that’s changing.

Now, much of the area surrounding downtown Carthage is experiencing substantive growth. A new courthouse is under construction downtown. Subdivisions are springing up. But the capstone — thus far — came last week when Niebauer, Southern Pines Brewing’s CEO and co-founder, shared that he is planning to preserve, revitalize and repurpose the town’s iconic Tyson and Jones Buggy Building.

Niebauer envisions a large restaurant, brewery and venue for gatherings and music. His goal is to bring something like Southern Pines’ First Friday, Pinehurst’s Life After Five, and Pop-Up in the Pines to Carthage regularly promoting all of downtown with local music and businesses — “along with pizza and beer, of course,” he said.

Is Carthage — in Phoenician, it means “new city” — ready for a reboot?

William Britton, running unopposed to be the county’s next Register of Deeds in November, thinks it is.

The area is on the track for responsible growth “in the immediate future,” he said.

“Growth and job opportunities are vital for the feeling of community,” he said, and “the announcement of the purchase of the buggy building has everyone talking around town.

“Everyone around the courthouse is excited about the lunches,” he said, “and everyone in the town is excited about everything else.”

Micah Niebauer at his new Southern Pines Brewing Co. taproom at the corner of West Pennsylvania Avenue and North Bennett Street. Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot

But the Southern Pines Brewing news is not notable merely for what it adds to people’s lunch options. Across North Carolina, craft breweries have popped up in old industrial spaces and forsaken neighborhoods and created new synergies for communities. Several economic studies have cited craft breweries as catalysts for more investment, rehabilitation and options for residents. In some ways, they are to downtowns what shopping malls were to suburbs: new “town squares.”

The Rev. Richard Martindale, of First Presbyterian Church, has been with the historic downtown Carthage church for over 16 years. He is excited that something is being done to his immediate neighbor, the buggy building.

There’s a long relationship between the two buildings; one of the large stained glass windows in the historic sanctuary has the Tyson family name — they were long-time church members. Martindale can look out his office window and easily see the old factory. The two neighbors share a parking lot as well.

Martindale does not foresee any issues: “We know we can all work together to figure something out; for Micah to want to preserve this building and bring something so needed downtown, I think everyone will try to do whatever we can do to welcome him to Carthage.”

When asked about the juxtaposition of a church and a brewery sharing space, Martindale laughed. “We are Presbyterians, we like beer.”

The pastor even hopes that the two organizations can join forces.

“For churches, COVID was devastating in so many ways, so we are working on getting parishioners, new and old, back into the church building,” Martindale said. “Perhaps some guests from next door will see our beautiful building and our wonderful members and want to come over and visit. Everyone is welcome here.”

Another neighbor, the Carthage Post Office, was bustling with excitement over the news, though some of the employees were quick to mention that they were excited about the “pizza and salad part” and “not the beer part.”

The Space Between Photography Studio is the newest addition to downtown Carthage.

Chris Trimble, who specializes in family, newborn and maternity photography, hopes to open this week. She had a studio in Southern Pines before she moved to San Antonio with her military family. Now “back for good,” Trimble also owns The Jubliee Baking Co., a small home-based bake shop that offers handcrafted cookies for local pickup and delivery.

“For people like me that have sentimental hearts and nostalgia running through our veins,” she is ready to “bring new life to this wonderful town.”

While Trimble is new on the business scene in Carthage, Ted Marsh has “seen it all around here.” As owner of Ted’s Automotive Machine Shop, he has been in downtown Carthage for 27 years.

“Something needs to be done to this town and maybe this is it,” he said. “The whole town seems like it is full of law offices. We need something exciting.I think this might work.”

Jason Burgin, manager at the Carthage office of the Farm Bureau Insurance Co. on North Ray Street, said, “I really believe this is the anchor that our community needs.

“The Southern Pines location is always packed,” he said. “Can you imagine the number of people that will soon be downtown on a regular basis? I really can’t wait.”

Cindy VanCleave calls herself “an accountant gone rogue” as she stands on a ladder hanging a vintage mirror next to a 1940’s stack of suitcases. She and Janet Ambrose are owners of Market 107 in Carthage and Hartland Design, a custom trunk-designing service that takes old military trunks, refurbishes them and then turns the top of them into a shadow box for display of special items.

VanCleave has several theories on how the growth is continuing in town

“We have had a wave of new ownership in the buildings up and down downtown,” she said. “When you buy something, you always have a surge of energy to do something new. It took one person sprucing up their building, then newer owners saw what he had done. It only takes one or two people to start the fire that stirs creativity and people’s inspirations. It is happening right now.

“For those of us that notice those types of things, we have been seeing it for the last year or so. It is coming. The brewery is just another one of those surges. It is such good news for all of us.”

Home builders, many of whom have set up operations to build neighborhoods marketed toward military-connected families, are seeing new potential as land grows too expensive or too scarce in southern Moore. Today, Carthage is a leading community for builders, along with Vass and Cameron.

And with the proximity of Fort Bragg and three multi-billion dollar manufacturing facilities recently announced within 40 minutes of driving, it’s easy to see much more coming.

Considering longtime home building company DR Horton. It marketed its newest Carthage neighborhood, Southbury, by saying, “Conveniently located off 15-501 within 10 miles of Pinehurst and 30 miles to Ft. Bragg, this location is perfect for anyone.”

Developers of another project, called Carthage Landing, have indicated they want to build 382 single-family homes on one eighth of an acre lots between GreenAcres and Priest Hill roads. Within the 130-acre property, 8.5 acres is planned for commercial development. Developers have yet to bring forward a formal plan.

Home construction in Carthage across from Peak Resources - Pinelake in Carthage on Pinehurst Ave. Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot

Horton’s Southbury neighborhood features ranch and two-story home designs ranging from 1,764 to 2,824 square feet, with prices starting around $340,000, or what a lot of realtors consider “affordable” for young families in Moore County.

Meanwhile, the first phase of another new subdivision, Carriage Place has 120 homes in various stages of development and is located behind the State Employees Credit Union.

And then there’s the former Littler River golf course and resort property off U.S. 15-501. Development plans have been proffered for years, and more recent proposals have called for high-end single-family homes, retail space, and a medical complex.

It all adds up to a lot of activity for a town that has had fewer than 3,000 residents for a long time. But town officials are trying to be smart about what lies before them, lest they risk outstripping their resources.

Already, Carthage Elementary School is at capacity and, at more than 70 years old, is not aging well. Town and Moore County Schools officials acknowledge a new school is needed, but it’ll be several years before that becomes a reality.

Carthage also recently landed $8.5 million in federal aid to upgrade its water system, something that’s desperately needed for a network of pipes that also aren’t aging well. The town plans to overhaul its water treatment facility, complete with a new filtration system, Town Manager Emily Yopp said.

In June, Carthage enrolled in the Rural Community Capacity program, a new initiative from the North Carolina Department of Commerce that's part of the broader Rural Transformation Grant program. The upshot of that program: it offers $48 million for “local governments seeking to overcome challenges that limit their economic competitiveness.”

The town was also selected for the downtown revitalization category. Some of this money will play a part in the brewery project.

“I wouldn’t be able to do this ambitious project without this grant,” Niebauer said. “I do think it will be put to good use for all of Carthage.”

And the town is not welcoming every idea that comes before it. In August, the Carthage Board of Commissioners rejected a developer’s request to build a 78-lot subdivision near McNeill and Rockingham streets. The zoning had been approved for 60 single-family lots, but Kirby Holding Group wanted to add 18 additional units.

Yopp, recently selected to be town manager, realizes the importance of her role now more so than ever.

(Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)

“As a citizen of Carthage, I am excited about the growth we are experiencing,” she said, “but (I) also understand that this growth should be well-managed to ensure the sustainability and preservation of what makes Carthage a special place to live — its people, its heritage and its small-town atmosphere.”

Speaking as a longtime Carthage business owner, Lisa Padilla, of Lisa’s Boutique, welcomes the growth and what it can do for small businesses like hers.

“We have so much to offer here,” she said. “We are a great community of businesses — and growing every day — and this is so delightful for all of us.”

Contact Sam Hudson at (678) 577-6183 or sam@thepilot.com.

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

Your comment has been submitted.

There was a problem reporting this.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Comments that violate any of the rules above are subject to removal by staff.

Please purchase a subscription to continue reading. Subscribe today and support local community journalism.

Get unlimited digital access and support award-winning local journalism, for just 9.50 +tax a month. This includes access to the electronic replica edition of The Pilot.

As a print subscriber, you also have unlimited digital access. Connect your account now.

Our best deal: Get all the news of Moore County delivered to your home each Wednesday and Sunday — and receive unlimited digital access to thepilot.com.

© 2020 All contents © The Pilot LLC. Contents cannot be reproduced or used without express written consent of the publisher.
Please read our TERMS OF USE and our PRIVACY POLICY.

Physical Address: 145 W Pennsylvania Avenue, Southern Pines, NC

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 58, Southern Pines, NC 28388
910-692-7271 Fax:910-692-9382

Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.

Check your email for details.

Invalid password or account does not exist

Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.

An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.

Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.

A receipt was sent to your email.