Many of the 300 or so residents of this rural community trace their roots to a few 19th-century families. Neighbors here are often cousins. Newcomers, though more common in recent years, are still rare.

Outside Columbus County, few may have heard of Armour before Thursday.

Nestled between N.C. 87 and U.S. 74/76 just northwest of Wilmington, it would be stumbled on by few coastal visitors. But residents of the historically black community are proud of their heritage.

Raymond Shaw, 80, a retired paper mill worker, said that although the U.S. Postal Service labels them a part of nearby Riegelwood, residents of the unincorporated community like to maintain their independence.

"Even though we're in Riegelwood, I like to say I'm from Armour," he said.

The community dates to the 1850s, when a railroad speculator named Richard Love opened a train depot, general store and post office along the Seaboard rail route.

He decided to name it for the French word for love -- amour -- but an extra 'r' found its way into the name. The pronunciation also changed to stress the second syllable, so that it comes out sounding like "are-moore."

After the Civil War, the area was settled by freed slaves and so-called "free issue" people of mixed racial heritage, according to Earnestine Keaton, a retired telecom engineer who is the unofficial community historian.

During slavery times, many slaves had been lent to shipyards and factories in Wilmington where they picked up valuable job skills, she said.

That allowed them to find work at a fertilizer factory and a brickyard here while growing tobacco and corn on family farms.

"We've been lucky to have the means to be self-sufficient," she said.

These days, most Armour residents work at the International Paper mill or in shops in Riegelwood, or they commute to Wilmington. A growing number of Hispanic immigrants also work at the mill and on farms in the area.

The community ties remain strong.

Kenny Brown, who works as a floor technician at a hospital, said the pull of family history was enough to bring him back after he moved away a few years ago.

"I've lived here over half my life," he said.