THE TOWN OF HAMLET IS AN
ALL-AMERICAN HOMETOWN
H
amlet…where the rails are roaring,
the whistles are wailing, and the
crossings are calling.
There is something about the gentle breeze
as the sun rises over the only Victorian
Queen Anne train station in North Carolina
that makes Hamlet feel like home.
Known as the, “Hub of the Seaboard,” the
City of Hamlet is literally a city on the
crossings. Hamlet is nestled in the heart
of Richmond County, at the crossings of
Anson, Moore, Scotland, and Marlboro
County. Hamlet is home to more than 6,000
residents and each year welcomes countless
visitors to the historic Hamlet Depot, the
National Railroad Museum Hall of Fame,
and the annual Seaboard Festival.
The city is in the midst of a monumental
revitalization at its City Lake. Over the last
year, they have increased police presence in
the area, cut back overgrowth, improved the
shoreline, made needed repairs to walking
trails and painted a mural along a retaining
wall that memorializes Councilman
Joe Robinson, a leading advocate of the
revitalization who passed suddenly last year
before getting to see his vision take shape.
58 • PROGRESS 2020
Just the day before his passing, Robinson
and City Manager Jonathan Blanton ran into
each other spending time with their families
at the lake and were looking forward to the
possibilities. Blanton wrote in a letter to the
editor that Robinson told him that day, “The
lake looks great and I can’t wait to see the
progress continue here.”
The mural is a mirror image of the lake
itself, and in it is Robinson as he was that
day: watching his grandchildren play with
the “Hamlet Hen,” a mother duck that
had made a nest on the lake’s shoreline.
Robinson being included in the mural
was a surprise to his widow, Terri, who
was overcome with emotion at seeing the
finished product.
But these improvements are just the
beginning. The city has a Master Plan which
includes adding a playground and splash
pad, repairing and extending the pier all the
way across the lake, adding a boardwalk and
overlook at the rear of the lake, turning the
red caboose at the entrance into a reading
space, adding new swings and seating areas,
as well as a new shelter and picnic area.
Each project is designed to give families a
place to relax and enjoy the place they call
home, and local residents will be able to give
their input on which project the city moves
forward on first.
“The city is looking forward to making the
Hamlet City Lake one of the most attractive
landscape scenes in Richmond County,” said
Blanton.
Inclusive, welcoming, and diverse, Hamlet
offers something unique to all who know
and make their home here. Home to
commuters who want both an urban career
in neighboring towns and a peaceful life in
a small-town of their own. Home to retirees
looking for a quiet, down-home community
to make their second home. And home
to born-and-bred natives who know that
there is no place finer than Hamlet, North
Carolina.
From the tens of thousands of patrons who
attend the rip-roaring annual Seaboard
Festival, to the countless attendees at the
enchanting yearly Fourth of July Firework
Show, to the droves of festive onlookers at
seasonal Christmas festivities, Hamlet is
always hopping with excitement and energy.
So, come on down to an all-American
hometown … it’s just around the bend.