Averasboro was located on the Cape Fear River. John McAllister migrated from Scotland to this town and established a grist mill on a creek known as McAllister's Creek. Today the creek is called Bumpas Creek. A German immigrant, John Matilinear, operated a ferry on the west side of the Cape Fear. By 1756, the King's Highway ran from Hillsborough to Brunswick. Later, the King's Highway was known as the Old Stage or Post Road. By 1766, the Avera family had settled in the area.
Averasburg, named for wealthy planter and landowner William Avera was incorporated in 1791. Eventually, the Scottish "burg" was replaced by the English "boro". Avera bought McAllister's grist mill in 1774 and built a tavern at the corner of Old Stage Road and the ferry docks. In 1791, he donated 120 acres for the town 25 miles north of Fayetteville on the Cape Fear River. William Avera, Robert Draughon, Philemon Hodges, William Rand and David Smith were the first commissioners. The post office began 1 Oct 1794.
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the town was the third largest in the state. Only Fayetteville and Wilmington were larger.
Averasboro continued to thrive during the 19th century. It became a way stop for inland farmers transporting tar, pitch, turpentine, corn and cotton to Fayetteville on flat barges by 1860. The town had an academy, a Masonic lodge and two churches. During the Civil War, it was the recruiting point for Confederate soldiers from Harnett County.
On 16-17 Mar 1865, six thousand Confederates held off thirty thousand Union troops on a narrow strip of land between the Black River and Cape Fear River. Lt Gen William J Hardee's Confederate forces delayed the Union's troops long enough for Gen Joseph E Johnston to organize his troops for battle at Bentonville.
The Ku Klux Klan's notorious activities and the creation of the Southern Railway line which went four miles east in Dunn contributed to the demise of the town. A government informant went to the meetings and noted who was participating in the activities. Before federal marshalls could make any arrests, those involved had fled out of state. By 1887, the railroad had lured others away.
Today, all that remains of this once flourishing town is a cemetery and a civil war museum.