Town file
Raeford, North Carolina
Raeford, North Carolina (Hoke County, North Carolina) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 155, "Two Bodies & One Big Coincidence" (23 January 2020). Raeford is a small town in Hoke County in south-central North Carolina, about 4.3 square miles, roughly ninety minutes from Raleigh and two hours from Charlotte.
- Town
- Raeford
- County
- Hoke County
- State
- North Carolina
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 155
- Approximate location
- 34.981, -79.230
Episode 155 / 23 January 2020 / 162 min / full
Two Bodies & One Big Coincidence
"Rayford, North Carolina, RAE FORD, in south-central North Carolina, in Hoke County, H OK E county" about 0:05:05
The case: Murder of Theresa Puryear (September 1983); Murder of Karen Puryear (November 1985). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2020
- Population
- 4,859
- Median household income
- $33,266
- Median home value
- $177,000
- Two-bedroom rent
- about $810
- Cost of living
- 89 out of 100
- Religious
- about 25%
- Property crime
- ▲ almost double
- Violent crime
- ▲ about 25% higher
History, in brief
- Raeford was settled on the site of an old cotton field and was not really populated as a town until the late 1800s. about 0:07:19
- In 1898 a few families made up the whole population. about 0:07:46
- In 1899 the Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad was extended to the settlement, which made the town. about 0:07:54
- John McCray ran a turpentine distillery and A. W. Willaford ran a general store. about 0:15:22
- The name Raeford was made from the Ray and the Ford of the two men's names and used for the post office they established. about 0:16:13
- The area was settled by Highland Scots and held the largest settlement of Gaelic-speaking Highland Scots in North America, in the Cape Fear Valley. about 0:16:22
- Hoke County was formed in 1911 from pieces of other counties and named for Robert F. Hoke, a Confederate general in the Civil War. about 0:18:31
- Since the Second World War Lumbee Indian families have moved into the area, and there are more Native Americans here than elsewhere in the region. about 0:18:42
- Local employers listed include Unilever, Burlington Industries, House of Raeford Inc., Tar Heel Turkey Hatchery and Hoke Rubber Products. about 0:19:03
- The town motto is "Where quality living meets quality life". about 0:06:42
- Raeford is about 4.3 square miles, about 90 minutes from Raleigh and two hours from Charlotte, and about 20 minutes from Red Springs. about 0:05:17
The reviews read out
2 stars
"One decent place to live if you want inexpensive housing close to Fort Bragg, but not a safe area, with trashy neighbours, a joke of a school system and daycares the reviewer would never use."about 0:19:40
"Crime is bad and false allegations are worse, with corrupt public officials, typical small town North Carolina."about 0:20:17
"A backwards town that will lynch an out-of-towner until they are broke, and beware of West Fayetteville towing, who are crooks."about 0:20:31
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Red Springs, North Carolina12 miles
- Clinton, North Carolina51 miles
- Cary, North Carolina60 miles
- Selma, North Carolina65 miles
- Coward, South Carolina75 miles
- Burlington, North Carolina77 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.