Edgecombe County ( or )Talk Like a Tarheel
, from the North Carolina Collection website at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. Retrieved August 16, 2023. is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the U.S. state of

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. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,900. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Tarboro Tarboro is a town located in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Rocky Mount metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 10,721. It is the county seat of Edgecombe County. The town is o ...

. Edgecombe County is part of the Rocky Mount, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

This area eventually comprising Edgecombe County was historically home to the Tuscarora, a Native American people. The first European settlers arrived in the Tar River region in the mid-1730s. On May 16, 1732, Royal Governor of the

Province of North Carolina The Province of North Carolina, originally known as the Albemarle Settlements, was a proprietary colony and later royal colony of Great Britain that existed in North America from 1712 to 1776.(p. 80) It was one of the five Southern col ...

George Burrington, in response to a petition and with the consent of his council, authorized for the representation of an Edgecombe Precinct in the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, state government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

, named in honor of British politician Richard Edgcumbe. This decision was vetoed by the assembly and subsequently debated for several years. In 1741, the assembly acceded to the creation of the precinct. The reason for why the eventual county's name is spelled differently than the honoree's name or when this discrepancy came into practice is unknown. In 1746 part of Edgecombe County became Granville County. In 1758 a portion, including the county seat of Enfield, became Halifax County, wile another portion in the south became part of Dobbs County. In 1777 yet another part became Nash County. In 1763 the county seat was designated at the town of Tarboro. The first U.S. Census in 1790 recorded a total population of 10,255. In 1840 the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad—later renamed the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad—was completed with a line through the county, which spurred the development of the communities of Rocky Mount, Battleboro, and Sharpsburg. By 1850, the county produced significant amounts of cotton and recorded a population 17,189. In 1855, parts of Nash, Edgecombe, Johnston, and Wayne counties were combined to form Wilson County. At the onset of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, secessionist sentiment predominated in Edgecombe. From its population six companies were raised for service with the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

. In 1863, federal forces conducted a raid on Rocky Mount, destroying railroad infrastructure and several industrial sites. Another federal incursion in December 1864 led to significant damage to property in the county east of Tarboro. In the aftermath of the war, the economy of eastern North Carolina was adversely affected. In the Reconstruction era, freedmen gained political power and, as a result, three blacks were elected to the North Carolina General Assembly between 1868 and 1872 and blacks held significant influence in local government. In 1871, after significant political controversy, all parts of Edgecombe County west of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad were annexed to Nash leading to the bifurcation of the Edgecombe communities of Battleboro and Sharpsburg between the two counties. In 1883, the county was reduced to its present dimensions when part of it was annexed to Wilson. From the Reconstruction era until the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

in the 1930s, the county experienced demographic increases and the development of industry.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.28%) is water.

State and local protected areas

* Lower Fishing Creek Game Land (part) * Tar River Game Land

Major water bodies

* Cokey Swamp * Deep Creek * Fishing Creek * Swift Creek * Tar River * Town Creek

Adjacent counties

* Halifax County – north * Martin County – east * Pitt County – south-southeast * Wilson County – southwest * Nash County – west

Major highways

* * * * (Princeville) * (Rocky Mount) * * * * * * * * * * * *

Major infrastructure

* Carolina Connector Intermodal Terminal, owned by

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

* Rocky Mount Station

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 48,900 people, 21,151 households, and 14,408 families residing in the county.

2010 census

At the 2010 census, there were 56,552 people living in the county. 57.4% were Black or African American, 38.8%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 2.3% of some other race and 1.0% of two or more races. 3.7% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 55,606 people, 20,392 households, and 14,804 families living in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 24,002 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 57.46%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 40.06%

, 0.20% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.56% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. 2.79% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 20,392 households, out of which 32.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.20% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 21.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.40% were non-families. 24.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.16. In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.10% under the age of 18, 8.60% from 18 to 24, 28.40% from 25 to 44, 23.40% from 45 to 64, and 12.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 86.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,983, and the median income for a family was $35,902. Males had a median income of $27,300 versus $21,649 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $14,435. About 16.00% of families and 19.60% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 27.50% of those under age 18 and 18.40% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Edgecombe County is a member of the regional Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments. The North Carolina Department of Corrections previously operated the Fountain Correctional Center for Women in an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in the county, near Rocky Mount. It closed in December 2014.

Economy

Edgecombe County's unemployment has been declining from a peak of 17.1 percent in February 2010. In June 2024 the county had an unemployment rate of 6.1 percent.

Education

Edgecombe County Public Schools has 14 schools ranging from

pre-kindergarten Pre-kindergarten (also called pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

thirteenth grade Thirteenth grade, grade thirteen, or super senior year is the final year of secondary school in some jurisdictions. In some locales, receiving a high school diploma or equivalent is compulsory. In others, receiving a high school diploma is not req ...

. These are separated into four

high schools A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

, four middle schools, five

elementary schools A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

, and one K–8 school. It was formed in 1993 from the merger of the old Edgecombe County Schools and Tarboro City Schools systems. The county is home to Edgecombe Community College with campuses in Tarboro and Rocky Mount.

Communities

Map of Edgecombe County North Carolina With Municipal and Township Labels

City

* Rocky Mount (largest community; partially located also in Nash County)

Towns

* Conetoe * Leggett *

Macclesfield Macclesfield () is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. It is sited on the River Bollin and the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east; the town lies south of Ma ...

* Pinetops * Princeville * Sharpsburg *

Speed In kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a non-negative scalar quantity. Intro ...

(county seat) * Whitakers

Townships

The county is divided into fourteen townships, which are both numbered and named: * 1 (Tarboro) * 2 (Lower Conetoe) * 3 (Upper Conetoe) * 4 (Deep Creek) * 5 (Lower Fishing Creek) * 6 (Upper Fishing Creek) * 7 (Swift Creek) * 8 (Sparta) * 9 (Otter Creek) * 10 (Lower Town Creek) * 11 (Walnut Creek) * 12 (Rocky Mount) * 13 (Cokey) * 14 (Upper Town Creek)

Unincorporated communities

* Crisp * Mercer

Notable people

* Duncan Lamont Clinch (1787–1849) – born at Ard-Lamont in Edgecombe County, American Army officer in the First and Second Seminole Wars * Dorsey Pender (1834–1863) – born at Pender's Crossroads in Edgecombe County, Major General in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

. * Josiah Pender (1819-1864) – cousin to Dorsey Pender, who captured Fort Macon from Union soldiers in 1861. * Hugh Shelton (born 1942) – four-star General and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appointed by President Clinton.

References

Works cited

* * * *

External links

* *
NCGenWeb Edgecombe County
genealogy resources for the county {{Authority control Rocky Mount metropolitan area 1741 establishments in North Carolina Populated places established in 1741 Black Belt (U.S. region) Majority-minority counties in North Carolina