When Wyvie Jones waded into the Lumber River on Friday afternoon, he was reminded of his childhood years spent swimming with friends and family members in the cool, dark water.
It had been 40 years since Jones, a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, had been in the river. He moved away when he was 19 to join the military and later lived in Omaha, Nebraska.
“It makes you feel like the water’s your blood,” said Jones, 59. “I got baptized in this river, and a lot of our people feel the same,” Jones said. “It’s here, it’s fresh, and it’s running through us. It’s like a religious thing to refresh yourself.”
Dozens of other people also took a dip near Maxton on Friday as part of the grand opening of the renovated Wire Pasture access point in the Lumber River State Park. The $7.5 million project includes a 3,000-square-foot visitor center featuring artwork from Lumbee members. Outside, there are hiking trails, gathering spaces, canoes, and pavilions.
The area closed in 2020 because of “extensive illegal activity” on private property accessed through the park, the North Carolina State Parks and Recreation department said at the time. The state also conducted site assessments, including archaeological surveys, before crews began construction in 2024. The renovation is part of the $2 billion Connect NC Bond, which voters approved in 2016.
Brian Strong, the state parks and recreation director, said the Wire Pasture redo is the first part of a long-standing project to renovate the Lumber River State Park, which spans nearly 13,700 acres from Hoke County to near Mullins, South Carolina. The goal is to also renovate the river access points at Chalk Banks in Scotland County and Princess Ann in Robeson County, according to a master plan published in 2020.
Strong said the Wire Pasture project serves as motivation, given the community’s excitement.
“This area will help to educate people more than before,” he said. “We know a lot of people were here before this. This is the Lumbee Nation, and we want to provide the community a way to connect with their heritage and land.”
The Lumbee Tribe, which became the 575th federally recognized Native American group in the country in December, has deep ties to the river. Its members are often called “People of the Dark Water” because their ancestors fled European newcomers in eastern North Carolina and settled along the banks of the river, which has a dark hue from natural vegetation. Over time, the river has been affected by pollution from landfills, wastewater treatment plants, and manufacturing companies, according to the national environmental nonprofit American Rivers.
The new visitors’ center features more than a dozen works from Lumbee artists and craftspeople, including Cindy Locklear, who has been weaving baskets for more than 30 years.
Locklear said her great-great-grandfather weaved baskets, and she’s carrying on the tradition. She soaks dried oak splints in water to create handbags, many of which she was selling at Friday’s grand opening event.
“Being able to leave my mark is the coolest thing ever,” she said. “I’m excited there’s a space dedicated to these things. People might have opportunities to learn and share their work, and other artists or craftsmen can share their knowledge and make things.”
Jones, who moved back to Robeson County a few years ago, was thrilled to be back in the Lumber River.
“A lot of people here today have swam at this spot way before this was all here,” he said.