Beginnings 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.
19th century 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 marketed began hosting balls for the community in the 1880s; these became known as "june germans" for the time of year and style of dance. June Germans eventually transformed into all-night dance parties and attracted musicians and socialites from miles around well into the 1900s. By the end of the 19th century, tobacco had surpassed
King Cotton as the town's primary agricultural product. A vibrant
central business district arose. As in the rest of the
South, North Carolina had imposed legal
racial segregation, including restrictions and discrimination in housing. White suburbs developed largely on the west side of town, such as
Villa Place and
West Haven. Black neighborhoods, such as Crosstown and Around the "Y", where jazz musician
Thelonious Monk was born, were concentrated on the east side of town. Several notable
Civil Rights events occurred in Rocky Mount. In 1946,
African-American tobacco warehouse workers voted to organize in Rocky Mount as part of a broader nationwide movement known as
Operation Dixie. It included voter registration to fight against the
disenfranchisement of blacks and to take other political action against segregation. On November 27, 1962,
Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech at Booker T. Washington High School; he used his refrain "
I have a dream" a year before his better known delivery at the
March on Washington, which became famous.
Sanitation workers went on strike in 1978 when government sanitation workers protested their black co-worker being wrongfully arrested. He was acquitted in court on the charges. In 2018 the city council officially apologized to him for the case. After
WWII, the city continued to grow. In the 1950s and 1960s the city's economy diversified to include banking, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and the headquarters of a fast food chain known as
Hardee's. New higher education facilities were founded, including
North Carolina Wesleyan College in 1956 and
Nash Community College and
Edgecombe Community College in 1968. In 1970, Rocky Mount received an
All-America City Award. In the 1970s the city's hospitals were consolidated under
Nash General Hospital. That was also the period of completion of
Rocky Mount–Wilson Regional Airport. In 1999, the city won its second All-America City Award. In the fall of 1999 two hurricanes made landfall in
eastern North Carolina. Both passed over Rocky Mount:
Hurricane Dennis as a tropical storm in August with of rain and
Hurricane Floyd in September with nearly of rain. Floyd is especially memorable because most localized flooding happened quickly overnight. Many residents were not aware of the flooding until the water came into their homes, and many required rescue. The hurricane resulted in the worst flooding in history of the Tar River, which had become saturated in August. It exceeded 500-year flood levels along its lower stretches, and many homes and businesses were destroyed.
21st century During the first decades of the 21st century, the city has encouraged efforts to revitalize the historic downtown. It has supported projects to renovate buildings such as the
train station and Douglas Block, or repurpose them, such as the
Imperial Centre for Arts and Sciences. In 2007,
Capitol Broadcasting Company bought Rocky Mount Mills. It is adapting it as a mixed-use campus of
breweries, restaurants, residential lofts, and event space. Major new community projects include the
sports complex and downtown
event center. ==Geography==