Rocky Mount

History

The region around the Tar River was continuously inhabited by various cultures of indigenous people for 12,000 years. It had long been home to the historic Tuscarora people, who spoke an Iroquoian language. After English colonists and indigenous allies waged the Tuscarora War in the early 1700s; most survivors migrated to the North. The main party of the Tuscarora settled by 1722 with other Iroquoian peoples of the Five Nations, south of the Great Lakes in what became central and western New York. They became the Sixth Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy. More English speakers began to settle the area along the Tar River. They settled along the fall line between the Piedmont and coastal plain, below which the rivers were navigable to the coast. The difference in height meant that the downstream waters could power mills. As the church was the center of community life, its records were the first civil and vital records of the developing village. Its congregation effectively administered law enforcement, with officers issuing citations for crimes. A post office was established at the falls of the Tar River on March 22, 1816. At this point, the name "Rocky Mount" officially appears in documented history, referring to the rocky mound at the falls of the Tar River. Rocky Mount Mills, the second cotton mill in the state of North Carolina, was built there soon after in 1818. The Battle family was also involved in the construction of the longest continuous railroad in the world up to that time, the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, which ran about east of the mill. On February 19, 1867, the village outside the mill, which was largely devoted to worker housing, was incorporated as a town. Tobacco also shaped the city's social life. Warehouses where tobacco was stored and…

Geography

Rocky Mount is located in northeastern North Carolina, at the fall line between the Atlantic Coastal Plain to the east and the Piedmont region to the west. The city is east of Raleigh, the state capital, northeast of Fayetteville, north of Wilmington, north of Wilson, south of Roanoke Rapids, and south of Richmond, Virginia. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.47%) is water. Changes in industrialization eventually forced the closing of the mill. The workers had to find other housing. However, when the mill closed, the property remained intact. Though the property has been a rental for its entire existence, covenants are placed on the property to assure home ownership and owner occupancy and protect the historical integrity. Rocky Mount has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by cool, sometimes moderately cold winters, and hot, humid summers. The average high temperatures range from in the winter to around in the summer. The average low temperatures range from in the winter to around in the summer. |source 2 = Weather.com |date= November 2019 }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,293
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  1,183
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,099
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,099
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  995
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  982
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  895
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  887

Largest nearby schools

• Rocky Mount High
  High · Rocky Mount · 1,072 students · 17.6:1 ratio
• Northern Nash High
  High · Rocky Mount · 1,059 students · 17.9:1 ratio
• Rocky Mount Preparatory
  Other · Rocky Mount · 1,022 students · 20.9:1 ratio
• Nash Central High
  High · Rocky Mount · 921 students · 17.7:1 ratio
• Red Oak Middle
  Middle · Battleboro · 804 students · 20.6:1 ratio
• Nashville Elementary
  Elementary · Nashville · 672 students · 16.4:1 ratio
• Coopers Elementary
  Elementary · Elm City · 585 students · 17.2:1 ratio
• Benvenue Elementary
  Elementary · Rocky Mount · 580 students · 17.6:1 ratio