Town of

Tabor City

Close to the Beach

Tabor City has award-winning campgrounds, locally owned restaurants, muscadine wines & family valued traditions.

Distance to Myrtle Beach (minutes)

Tabor City Maps

Maps for Tabor City, NC and Columbus County including Tabor City.
(click to view or Right Click to download a PDF copy)

Population

We are a friendly community where you will always be greeted with a wave and a smile whether at a football game on Friday night or at the North Carolina Yam Festival where sweet potatoes steal the show each October.

Population

ABOUT THE CITY

Tabor City, North Carolina prominently sits in the southeast corner of the state in Columbus County. This town filled with southern charm and hospitality was founded as a rural market town on the Atlantic Coast Railroad. Our rich history as an agricultural center can still be seen today with our fields of corn, lumber yards, and grain silos. The municipality has a population of 4,287 and is located within 30 minutes of the Grand Strand (Myrtle Beach, SC and Brunswick County, NC).

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While many people know us because we are on the way to the Grand Strand, Tabor City is... (Learn more)

so much more than that. Where our tea is always sweet, our chicken is always fried, and our neighbors always have time for a front porch conversation it is also home to a few celebrities. Tabor City is home to Country music legend Stonewall Jackson. Stonewall became the first artist to join the Grand Ole Opry before obtaining a recording contract. He had many hits such as “Waterloo”, “Life to Go” and “Me and You and a Dog Named Boo”. Stonewall was also the first artist to record a live album from the Grand Ole Opry with Old Showboat. Another local celebrity from our southern town is Pulitzer Prize winning author Horace Carter. In 1953, Mr. Carter was awarded the Pulitzer for his coverage of the real-life struggle with the Ku Klux Klan in his small town of Tabor City which led to the first federal interventions in the South during that era, and to the arrest and conviction of nearly 100 Klansmen. Take time to visit where this Pulitzer prize winning author started the town’s very first newspaper the “Tabor Tribune” located on East 4th Street.

Tabor City is award-winning campgrounds, locally owned restaurants, muscadine wines, and family valued traditions. We are a friendly community where you will always be greeted with a wave and a smile whether at a football game on Friday night or at the North Carolina Yam Festival where sweet potatoes steal the show each October.

While areas around us have changed with hasty growth, suburban lifestyles, and traffic jams, Tabor City has maintained our identity as a true southern town with our laid-back hospitality, sense of community pride, and nostalgic return to simpler times.

So, join us in Tabor City and Discover a Different Time.

OUR HISTORY

THE PRESENT

Today the Town is transitioning from tobacco-based agriculture and textiles to one based on light manufacturing, service, retail, and tourism…

Discover a Different Time

History of the “Yam Town” Song

Teddy Bullard, a native of Tabor City NC, is a Christian singer/songwriter/musician currently living in Roseland. In the early 80’s, Teddy was first in a group called “Faith” in Tabor City that consisted of Chuck and Gary Rackley of Tabor City, Danny Long of Chadbourn, and Freddie Hinson of Whiteville. After that group disbanded, they reunited years later and wrote and recorded a song for Brunswick Electric called “Brunswick EMC and You” which became known as the Co-Op song and in 1987 this song won an “Addie Award” in the Wilmington area which is a prestigious honor in the advertising community. A video was created of that song. This same group of musicians wrote and recorded a song for the Strawberry Festival during that same time. These two songs were recorded and mixed under the direction of Elson Stephens at Southern Sound Studios which he owned. He was affectionately known in the community as “Major Elson Stephens” for his military career, and he was the grandfather of Representative Brenden Jones. Mr. Stephens was a pioneer of using local musicians to produce local music. He produced a lot of notable recording projects out of his studio in Tabor City and was a recording veteran.

Teddy sang with “Ocean Side” based in Socastee, SC with his friend Gary Osborne. “Sent Forth,” a contemporary Christian group that consisted of Kenny Carter from Loris, Buddy Clontz and Patrica Rhodes from Tabor City, is yet another group he was part of. He has been part of “The Staffsman Quartet” and “The Joy Rivers Trio” and performed solo in between. He is currently in a group called “The Royal Descendents,” founded by WJ Hardee of Loris.

Tedder Bullard’s talents allowed him to participate in the Grand Strand Passion Play for many years, and he also performed in Branson, MO at the Ice Castle Theater during the “Grand Old Gospel Hour.” He has performed and participated with the Tabor City Baptist Church and was in the musical “Two from Galilee” with Anne Jernigan and our own Town Councilman Sam Rogers.

I tell you all of this for a reason. A few weeks ago Teddy came by the Tabor City Visitor Center and brought me several CDs of a song he wrote and recorded called “Yam Town,” which echoes his heartfelt love of Tabor City and the community. He told me the story of how this song was written. Many years prior, Mrs. Judy Gore, who worked for BEMC, asked Teddy to write a song and perform at the NC Yam Festival Workers Appreciation breakfast. He put together a quick song. Years later, after his 50th High School Reunion back in 2023, he rekindled friendships and decided he was going to go back to the drawing board and add more verses to the song “Yam Town” as a gift to his graduating class and the community of Tabor City.

Chuck Rackley, Gary Rackley, Kenny Carter, Buddy Clontz and Teddy all came back together, and a video of “Yam Town” was created and is now on YouTube. Copies of the CD were given to Town Council at their meeting on October 14th, 2025.

After all these years of being in the limelight and spotlight, Teddy has a desire to remain in the background—hence why I am speaking on his behalf in this story about how the song “Yam Town” came to be. Teddy Bullard, in my opinion, is a celebrity of Tabor City along with the musicians that created this song. I have spoken with Teddy, and he gave the Town of Tabor City permission to add his video of the song “Yam Town” to the Town of Tabor City’s webpage. The Town of Tabor City hopes you enjoy this song and you too feel the heartfelt message and memories it brings to mind of Tabor City!

News – Project Updates and Events

Town of Tabor City – Police Chief Position Announcement

Town of Tabor City – Police Chief Position Announcement

Press Release Town of Tabor City – Police Chief Position Announcement The Town of Tabor City is pleased to announce the opening of its search for a new Chief of Police. This is a vital leadership position within our community, and we invite qualified law enforcement...

Town of Tabor City Launches New Online Payment Portal for Utility Bills

Town of Tabor City Launches New Online Payment Portal for Utility Bills

The Town of Tabor City is pleased to announce the launch of a new online payment system, making it easier than ever for residents to pay their monthly water bills. Powered by InvoiceCloud, the new platform provides a fast, secure, and user-friendly way to view and pay...