The Murdoch Morrison gun factory stood on Gum Swamp Creek, whose water power supported its operation. Murdoch Morrison ran it with his ninety-year-old father-in-law, John Buchanan, who had inherited a gunsmith shop founded by his own father. Before the Civil War, the factory was known for hunting rifles, pistols, and Bowie knives. During the war, its production shifted to meet Confederate needs and to respond to shortages of raw materials caused by Union blockades. In June 1863, the North Carolina ordnance department paid the company for 62 gun locks. Several surviving rifles modeled on the British Enfield rifled musket have been attributed to the factory, which may have assembled some from parts made elsewhere. On March 9, 1865, Union forces destroyed the gun factory and its equipment. Old Wire Road, nearby, was one of the earliest roads through the Carolinas, the main route from Washington, DC to New Orleans, La., and one of the first telegraph lines between those cities ran along it. Laurel Hill became a major stop on the road for travelers between Fayetteville, NC, and Columbia, SC.