Long before Red Springs was incorporated in 1887 and its postal name changed from its former name of Dora in 1884, one of the first settlers in this community was "Sailor Hector" McNeill. It is not known exactly how he got his nickname, but he is found using it in the Bladen County tax lists of 1771. (Red Springs is in Robeson County which was formed from Bladen County in 1787.) "Sailor Hector" McNeill's home was at the top of the hill on the edge of the McNeill cemetery in town, and he and his wife Mary are buried there in unmarked graves.