1 EXHIBIT 23.4 CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS To the Board of Directors First Bancorp Troy, North Carolina We consent to the use in the Registration Statement of First Bancorp on Form S-4 of our report dated July 28, 2000 on the consolidated financial statements of Century Bancorp, Inc. and Subsidiary as of and for the years ended June 30, 2000 and 1999, and to the reference to our firm under the reference "experts" in the Registration Statement. /s/ Dixon Odom PLLC Sanford, North Carolina March 13, 2001