Rocky Mount is a city in Nash and Edgecombe counties in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. The city's population was 54,341 as of the 2020 census, making it the 20th-most populous city in North Carolina. The city is east of

Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

, the state capital. It is the principal city of the Rocky Mount metropolitan area—often called the "Twin Counties"—which had an estimated population of 145,383 in 2023. Rocky Mount is also an anchor city of the Rocky Mount-Wilson-Roanoke Rapids, NC Combined Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 288,366 in 2023. English and Scots traders encountered the indigenous people in this area of the falls of the

Tar River The Tar River is a river that is approximately long, in northeast North Carolina flowing generally southeast to an estuary of Pamlico Sound. The Tar River becomes the tidal Pamlico River once it passes under the U.S. Highway 17 Bridge in Was ...

beginning in the mid-1700s. Incorporated in 1867, the community continued to develop through the 19th century based on agriculture (cotton and tobacco), manufacturing of textiles (made possible by the water power of the falls), and development of rail transportation to link the town to major markets. Since the late 20th century, the economy of Rocky Mount has diversified into biomedical pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and logistics. Rocky Mount has twice received the

All-America City Award The All-America City Award is a community recognition program in the United States given by the National Civic League. The award recognizes the work of communities in using inclusive civic engagement to address critical issues and create stron ...

from the

National Civic League The National Civic League is an American nonpartisan, non-profit organization founded in 1894 as the "National Municipal League”; it adopted its new name in 1986. Its mission is to advance civic engagement to create equitable, thriving communit ...

: in 1969 and 1999.

History

Beginnings

The region around the

was continuously inhabited by various cultures of

indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

for 12,000 years. It had long been home to the historic

Tuscarora people The Tuscarora (in Tuscarora language, Tuscarora ''Skarù:ręˀ'') are an indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands in Canada and the United States. They are an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian Native Americans in the United States, Native Amer ...

, who spoke an

Iroquoian language The Iroquoian languages () are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking. As of 2020, almost all surviving I ...

. After English colonists and indigenous allies waged the

Tuscarora War The Tuscarora War was fought in North Carolina from September 10, 1711, until February 11, 1715, between the Tuscarora people and their allies on one side and European American settlers, the Yamasee, and other allies on the other. This was con ...

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 The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

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

. They settled along the

fall line A fall line (or fall zone) is the area where an upland region and a coastal plain meet and is noticeable especially the place rivers cross it, with resulting rapids or waterfalls. The uplands are relatively hard crystalline basement rock, and the ...

between the

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

and coastal plain, below which the rivers were navigable to the coast. The difference in height meant that the downstream waters could power

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * Factory * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Paper mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * Sugarcane mill * Textile mill * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic ...

s. The Falls of the Tar River Primitive Baptist Church was established in 1757. 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 A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven ...

in the state of North Carolina, was built there soon after in 1818. Its proprietors were two entrepreneurs and Joel Battle, grandson of an original colonial settler here. Battle bought out the other proprietors before turning over the enterprise to his cousin James Smith Battle. Until the 1850s, the mill operated with the labor of enslaved African Americans. They also comprised most of the labor on the cotton plantations. Beginning then, the mill owners hired exclusively white women and girls as mill workers for the rest of the century. 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 The Wilmington and Weldon Railroad (W&W) name began use in 1855, having been originally chartered as the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad in 1834. When it opened in 1840, the line was the longest railroad in the world with of track. It was constr ...

, which ran about east of the mill. It connected the area to major ports in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

to the north and the port of

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

to the south. The tracks first reached Rocky Mount on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

in 1839. In 1840, a train of cars en route to Wilmington stopped in Rocky Mount to import some "Old Nash" for special toasts at opening festivities. The fame of Nash County

apple brandy Fruit brandy (or fruit spirit) is a distilled beverage produced from mash, juice, wine or residues of edible fruits. The term covers a broad class of spirits produced across the world, and typically excludes beverages made from grapes, which are ...

spread from there. The railroad stimulated development of the town. In 1871, the county line was moved from the Tar River to its present location in the center of the tracks. The

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 ...

stage route also passed just south of Rocky Mount (roughly where

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

and

U.S. 64 U.S. Route 64 (US 64) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,281 miles (3,672 km) from Nags Head in eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route ...

run today), and for a time was the logical debarking point for railroad travelers wishing to proceed east or west. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, the surrounding region was raided in 1863 by Union troops under the command of Brigadier General Edward E. Potter. They burned down the mill, which supplied

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

yarn and cloth. After the war ended, the owners rebuilt the mill. On February 19, 1867, the village outside the mill, which was largely devoted to worker housing, was incorporated as a town. In the latter half of the 19th century, the

tobacco industry The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies who are engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any ...

became established in the state. Adjacent to the sandy

coastal plain A coastal plain (also coastal plains, coastal lowland, coastal lowlands) is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and an upland area. Formation Coastal plains can f ...

, Rocky Mount was well situated to take advantage of the rapidly rising demand for brightleaf

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

that grew best in the sandy soil. 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 "King Cotton" is a slogan that summarized the strategy used before the American Civil War (of 1861–1865) by secessionists in the southern states (the future Confederate States of America) to claim the feasibility of secession and to prove ther ...

as the town's primary agricultural product.

20th century

At the turn of the 20th century, Rocky Mount became the northern headquarters of the

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967, it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast ...

, which located its major repair shops and yard facilities in the town. With it came an influx of railroad workers. In 1900, Rocky Mount's population was around 3,000. On February 28, 1907, with a population around 7,500, Rocky Mount was officially incorporated as a city. A main railroad line, a well-established cotton mill, and productive farmland for brightleaf tobacco were major contributors to the area's growth and prosperity over the next decades. A vibrant

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

arose. As in the rest of the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

, North Carolina had imposed legal

racial segregation Racial segregation is the separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, ...

, including restrictions and discrimination in housing. White suburbs developed largely on the west side of town, such as Villa Place and

West Haven West Haven is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located on the coast of Long Island Sound. The city is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region. At the 2020 census, the population of the city was 55,584. Hi ...

. Black neighborhoods, such as Crosstown and Around the "Y", where jazz musician

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...

was born, were concentrated on the east side of town. Several notable

Civil Rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

events occurred in Rocky Mount. In 1946,

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

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 Disfranchisement, also disenfranchisement (which has become more common since 1982) or voter disqualification, is the restriction of suffrage (the right to vote) of a person or group of people, or a practice that has the effect of preventing someo ...

of blacks and to take other political action against segregation. On November 27, 1962,

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

gave a speech at Booker T. Washington High School; he used his refrain "

I have a dream "I Have a Dream" is a Public speaking, public speech that was delivered by American civil rights activist and Baptist minister Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. In the speech, Kin ...

" a year before his better known delivery at the

March on Washington The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (commonly known as the March on Washington or the Great March on Washington) was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic rig ...

, 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. DTRockyMount 19622

After

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 Hardee's Restaurants LLC is an American Fast food restaurant, fast-food restaurant chain operated by CKE Restaurants, CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. ("CKE") with locations primarily in the Southern and Midwestern United States. The company has ...

. New higher education facilities were founded, including

North Carolina Wesleyan College North Carolina Wesleyan University (NCWU) is a private Methodist university in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. It was founded in 1956. North Carolina Wesleyan offers courses at its main Rocky Mount campus, as well as satellite locations in Brunswick ...

in 1956 and Nash Community College and Edgecombe Community College in 1968. In 1970, Rocky Mount received an

. 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 Rocky Mount–Wilson Regional Airport is a public airport located southwest of the central business district of Rocky Mount, a city located in Nash and Edgecombe Counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is also north of Wilson, a c ...

. From the 1980s, the inner city suffered

urban decay Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban decay. ...

, as businesses had moved out to suburban highway locations. Rocky Mount's downtown deteriorated as new neighborhoods and shopping malls were built, such as

Golden East Crossing Golden East Crossing is a shopping mall in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, United States. Opened in 1986, the mall features Belk, Books-A-Million, Conn's, Dunham's Sports, J. C. Penney, and Ross Dress for Less. It is managed by Hendon Properties. H ...

. The city expanded its boundaries by annexation; for instance, in 1996, annexing the town of Battleboro to the north of the city.North Carolina General Assembly, Battleboro/Rocky Mount merger, House Bill 1177, 1995 Session
Retrieved Aug. 16, 2017. In 1999, the city won its second All-America City Award. In the fall of 1999 two hurricanes made landfall in

eastern North Carolina Eastern North Carolina (sometimes abbreviated as ENC) is the region encompassing the eastern tier of North Carolina, United States. It is known geographically as the state's Coastal Plain region. Primary subregions of Eastern North Carolina inclu ...

. Both passed over Rocky Mount:

Hurricane Dennis Hurricane Dennis was a deadly and destructive tropical cyclone that briefly held the record for the strongest Atlantic hurricane ever to form before August. Dennis was the fourth named storm of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane sea ...

as a tropical storm in August with of rain and

Hurricane Floyd Hurricane Floyd was a very powerful and large tropical cyclone which struck the Bahamas and the East Coast of the United States. It was the sixth list of named tropical cyclones, named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1 ...

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 A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing suc ...

and Douglas Block, or repurpose them, such as the Imperial Centre for Arts and Sciences. In 2007,

Capitol Broadcasting Company The Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc. (CBC) is an American media company based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Capitol owns three television stations and nine radio stations in the Raleigh–Durham and Wilmington, North Carolina, Wilmington areas o ...

bought Rocky Mount Mills. It is adapting it as a mixed-use campus of

breweries A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

, restaurants, residential lofts, and event space. Major new community projects include the

sports complex A sports complex is a group of sports facilities. For example, there are track and field stadiums, football stadiums, baseball stadiums, swimming pools, Olympic Parks, and indoor arenas. Asia * Azadi Sport Complex * Cebu City Sports Com ...

and downtown event center. In 2019,

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, 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 trac ...

, the successor company of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, broke ground on a new intermodal cargo terminal that is expected to stimulate the local economy in the next decade.

Geography

Rocky Mount is located in northeastern North Carolina, at the

between the

Atlantic Coastal Plain The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

to the east and the Piedmont region to the west. The city is east of

, the state capital, northeast of

Fayetteville Fayetteville may refer to: *Fayetteville, Alabama *Fayetteville, Arkansas ** The Fayetteville Formation *Fayetteville, Georgia *Fayetteville, Illinois *Fayetteville, Indiana *Fayetteville, Washington County, Indiana *Fayetteville, Missouri *Fayette ...

, north of Wilmington, north of Wilson, south of

Roanoke Rapids Roanoke Rapids () is a city in Halifax County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 15,229 at the 2020 census and is the largest community in Halifax County. It is the principal city of the Roanoke Rapids Micropolitan Statistical ...

, and south of

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.47%) is water. The

passes through the city from west to east, crossing the fall line at Upper Falls and Little Falls and descending within the city limits. The city boundaries straddle the line between Edgecombe and Nash counties, which follows the railroad tracks through the center of the city running north to south.

Neighborhoods

Historic Rocky Mount Mills Village

Situated near the Tar River, the Rocky Mount Mills Village grew in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a small community of tenants working for the mill. Built between 1885 and 1940, each house in the historic district is recognized by the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. 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.

Climate

Rocky Mount has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''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.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 54,341 people, 22,260 households, and 14,334 families residing in the city.

2010 census

At the 2010 census, there were 57,477 people, 23,097 households, and 14,639 families residing in the city. The population density was . The city had 26,953 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 61.3%

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 ...

, 32.4%

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 ...

, 0.6% Native American, 1.0% Asian, and 1.6% from two or more races.

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 ...

s or

Latinos Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans who have a Spanish or Latin American background, culture, or family origin. This demographic group includes all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino, regardless of race. According to th ...

of any race were 3.7% of the population. Of the 23,097 households, 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.7% were married couples living together, 22.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.6% were not families. About 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals living alone, and 26.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.04. In the city, the population was distributed as 27.5% between the ages of 1 and 19, 6.4% from 20 to 24, 24% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38.7 years. 45.8% of the population are males compared to 54.2% for females. The median income for a household in the city was $37,059, and for a family was $39,929. 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 city was $21,779. About 19.0% of the population is 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 ...

Religion

Rocky Mount's population is 40.3% religiously affiliated, below the state average of 48.9%.

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

is the largest

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

, with

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

s (13.3%) making up the largest religious group, followed by

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

s (4.5%) and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

s (3.5%).

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

s (1.5%),

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

s (0.9%), and

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

s (0.8%) make up a significant amount of the Christian population as well. The remaining Christian population (15.2%) is affiliated with other churches.

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

(0.5%) has the second-largest percentage of adherents after the total for Christian sects.

Economy

The economy of the Rocky Mount metropolitan area, historically dependent on agriculture and textile manufacturing, has diversified into pharmaceuticals and manufacturing. As the city is located near the juncture of a number of highways and railway, distribution and logistics are important to local businesses. The area has a strong service sector and a number of financial and customer support centers are located here. Rocky Mount is located from the state capital

and the associated

Research Triangle The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Anchored by the cities of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh an ...

. This has helped attract new companies to Rocky Mount seeking skilled labor and a lower costs of living and doing business. The metropolitan area was named in a 2020 study as the third-highest in the United States where manufacturing is thriving, with a manufacturing output of $6.2 billion, or $42,270 per capita. Between 2014 and 2018, manufacturing grew in the Rocky Mount area by 11.8%, and there were 108% more manufacturing jobs than the national average. In 2019,

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 ...

began construction of a $200 million cargo terminal in Rocky Mount.

Largest employers

Below is a list of some of the largest employers in the metropolitan area as of 2018.

Shopping

Rocky Mount is a regional shopping destination with many big-box retailers and specialty shops located in the city. Rocky Mount's shopping centers are generally congregated along and around US 301 (Wesleyan Boulevard). Two examples are

and Englewood Square. In the downtown, the Douglas Block is a commercial area that was a former African-American business district. Station Square is a shopping area located next to city hall and the train station.

Arts and culture

The city is home to multiple venues for the performing arts. The Imperial Centre for the Arts and Sciences hosts the Maria V. Howard Arts Center, a Children's Museum and Science Center, and a community theater. The Dunn Center for the Performing Arts at Wesleyan College regularly has college arts performances and touring acts, and is also the home of the Tar River Orchestra and Chorus. Most recently, the Rocky Mount Event Center opened in downtown with space for up to 5,000 seats for entertainment and sporting events. Rocky Mount Mills is a craft brewery incubator, the first of its kind on North Carolina. It now holds many up-and-coming breweries and restaurants. In addition, the mill hosts summer music festivals and other events throughout the year. Since 2014 it has been in redevelopment by Capitol Broadcasting Company, which also owns the popular

American Tobacco The American Tobacco Company was a tobacco company founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke through a merger between a number of U.S. tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter, Goodwin & Company, and Kinney Brothers. The company was one of the or ...

campus in downtown

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

. Nearby are dozens of historical homes for rent in the Rocky Mount Mills Village. The next phase of development is Goat Island on the Tar River, which will offer public access to hiking trails, sandy beaches, and rafting/canoeing. A Rocky Mount Railroad

Museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

has been in the planning stages for a number of years. The

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

was basic to the city's development: in the early to mid-1900s the Emerson Shops of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad employed more than 2,000 people. The museum organizers are seeking a suitable facility. It has been proposed for location inside the train station.

National Register of Historic Places

The area includes individually recognized properties, such as the Bellamy-Philips House, Bellemonte, Benvenue, Machaven, The Meadows, Rocky Mount Electric Power Plant, Rocky Mount Mills, and Stonewall. It also has numerous recognized districts:

Edgemont Historic District Edgemont Historic District is a national Historic district (United States), historic district located at Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Rocky Mount, Edgecombe County, North Carolina. The district encompasses 293 contributing buildings in a predomi ...

, Falls Road Historic District, Lincoln Park Historic District, Rocky Mount Central City Historic District, Rocky Mount Mills Village Historic District, Villa Place Historic District, and West Haven Historic District; all are listed on the

Parks and recreation

Rocky Mount is a major center for youth

sports tourism Sports tourism refers to travel which involves either observing or participating in a sporting event while staying apart from the tourists' usual environment. Sport tourism is one of the fast-growing sector of the global travel industry and equat ...

, as it is a midpoint between

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

along

. The Rocky Mount Sports Complex, maintained by the Parks and Recreation department, includes seven outdoor baseball fields, four softball fields, eight soccer fields, a professional disc golf course, basketball courts, and volleyball courts. The complex is used for numerous statewide and interstate baseball and soccer tournaments. It also has a football stadium, home to the NCWC Battling Bishops football team and

Elizabeth City State University Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) is a public historically Black university in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. It enrolls nearly 2,500 students in 28 undergraduate programs and 4 graduate programs and is a member-school of the Thurgood Ma ...

's annual Down East Viking Classic. The Rocky Mount Event Center administered by the city has added eight indoor basketball courts, sixteen volleyball courts, a ropes course, a climbing wall, and a family entertainment center, with plans to host indoor basketball, volleyball, and gymnastics competitions. Tar River Trail is a greenway running east to west along the namesake river that connects with multiple parks, city landmarks, and the sports complex. There are designated boat ramps for access to recreational paddling trips on the river. Notable among the connected parks is City Lake Park, built in 1937 during 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 ...

by the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

, and the

biodiverse Biodiversity is the variability of life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distributed evenly on Earth ...

Battle Park centered on the falls of the Tar River. The trail also includes a long, clear-span, wooden

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

, believed to be the longest such wooden bridge in the United States.

Government

The city of Rocky Mount has a council-manager form of government. The city is divided into seven wards with a total of seven council members elected to the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

, one from each ward. Members of the city council serve four-year

terms Term may refer to: Language *Terminology, context-specific nouns or compound words **Technical term (or ''term of art''), used by specialists in a field ***Scientific terminology, used by scientists *Term (argumentation), part of an argument in d ...

with

staggered elections Staggered elections are elections where only some of the places in an elected body are up for election at the same time. For example, United States senators have a six-year term, but they are not all elected at the same time. Rather, elections ...

every two years, while the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

is elected

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...

by citizens and serves a four-year term. The mayor is ''ex officio'' chair of the city council and votes only in case of a tie. The council appoints a

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city in the council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are referred to as the chief executive officer (CEO) or chief administ ...

to serve as chief administrative officer of day-to-day affairs of government. As of 2022, the current city manager is Peter Varney. Since the city straddles the Nash County-Edgecombe County border, the commissions of both counties are also involved in governance of the city.

City council

* Sandy Roberson (

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

) * Andre Knight (Ward 1) * Reuben C. Blackwell, IV (Ward 2) * Richard Joyner (Ward 3) * T. J. Walker (Ward 4) * Lige Daughtridge (Ward 5) * Tom Harris (Ward 6) * Jabaris Walker (Ward 7)

Education

North Carolina Wesleyan University North Carolina Wesleyan University (NCWU) is a private Methodist university in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. It was founded in 1956. North Carolina Wesleyan offers courses at its main Rocky Mount campus, as well as satellite locations in Brunswick ...

is a four-year private

liberal arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

college located in Rocky Mount and home to the Eastern North Carolina Center for Business and Entrepreneurship. The center's programs are free, open to the public, and focus on business development, entrepreneurship, and community engagement. The city is also served by Nash Community College, which has a brewing, distillation, and fermentation program in partnership with the

Mills Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to: As a name * Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin * Mills (given name) *Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine Places U ...

. Edgecombe Community College has a downtown campus specializing in biotechnology and medical simulation, one of only two such centers in the state.

Shaw University Shaw University is a private historically black university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded on December 1, 1865, Shaw University is the oldest HBCU to begin offering courses in the Southern United States. The school had its origin in the fo ...

's College of Adult and Professional Education (C.A.P.E.) has a satellite campus in Mills Village. The city of Rocky Mount is primarily served by the Nash-Rocky Mount Public School System, which as a whole has 15,000 students in 28 schools. Parts of the city in

Edgecombe County Edgecombe County ( or )Talk Like a Tarheel
, from the North Caro ...

are also served by the Edgecombe County Public Schools system. Public high schools include Nash Central High School, Northern Nash High School,

Rocky Mount High School Rocky Mount High School is a public high school in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Established in 1927, the school is in Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools. History Public education in Rocky Mount began in 1901. High school programs were established ...

, Southwest Edgecombe High School and Southern Nash High School. Three non-traditional public schools are Tar River Academy, The Center for Industry Technology and Innovation and its sister school, the Nash Rocky Mount Early College. The one local charter school is Rocky Mount Preparatory School. There are also a number of private schools in the area.

Braswell Memorial Library Braswell Memorial Public Library is a public library in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Initially organized as the Woman's Club Library in 1922, in 1923 the library moved into the building which bore the name The Thomas Hackney Braswell Memorial Li ...

serves the community as its major

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

with affiliated libraries throughout the Twin Counties. It recently became part of the

State Library A national library is established by the government of a nation to serve as the pre-eminent repository of information for that country. Unlike public libraries, they rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuab ...

's NC Cardinal consortium of public libraries. These share an integrated system allowing books and other materials to be checked out from other libraries across the state.

Media

Rocky Mount is considered part of the

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

television and radio

media market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television station, television and radio broadcasting, ra ...

, the 25th largest in the United States. However, multiple broadcast stations in the Greenville-

New Bern New Bern, formerly Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 31,291 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located at the confluence of the Neuse River, Neuse a ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

market also cover the city. Locally, WHIG-TV, founded in 1997 and now hosted at Wesleyan College, and WNCR-LD, founded in 2002 and located in downtown, are Rocky Mount's community television stations.

WRQM WRQM (90.9 FM) is a radio station broadcasting National Public Radio (NPR) programming. Licensed to Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and owned by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, it serves the Rocky Mount area as a full-time satell ...

90.9 FM is the repeater station of public radio station WUNC, the local

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

affiliate. In the 1990s, it was known as "

Down East "Down East" or "Downeast" is a term for parts of eastern coastal New England and Canada, particularly the U.S. state of Maine and Canada's Maritime Provinces, an area that closely corresponds to the historical French territory of Acadia. The ...

Radio" and also hosted at Wesleyan College. The ''

Rocky Mount Telegram The ''Rocky Mount Telegram'' is an American, English language daily newspaper based in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. History In the summer of 1996, Thomson Newspapers traded the ''Telegram'' to Cox Newspapers in exchange for six newspapers in Arizo ...

'' serves as the main daily newspaper for the city of Rocky Mount and surrounding areas.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Roads and highways

The city is served by three major highways: * to its west. * ( Future I-87) as its main east–west corridor. * (Wesleyan Boulevard) as its main north–south corridor. In the downtown area, both US 64 Bus. (Sunset Avenue / Thomas Street) and US 301 Bus. (Church Street) serve as major thoroughfares. State highways NC 4, NC 43, NC 48 and NC 97 serve the city by connecting to nearby towns.

Airports

The

serves the general aviation needs of the surrounding counties. It is on NC 97, southwest of downtown Rocky Mount. The closest airport with scheduled commercial service is Pitt–Greenville Airport (PGV), to the southeast. Cargo and charter flights in the area also use the

Kinston Regional Jetport Kinston Regional Jetport , also known as Stallings Field, is a public airport located three miles (5 km) northwest of the central business district of Kinston, a city in Lenoir County, North Carolina. The airport has a single runway that ...

(ISO), to the south.

Raleigh-Durham International Airport The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Anchored by the cities of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh an ...

(RDU), is to the west.

Rail

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

provides three north and three southbound trains per day at the Rocky Mount station located in downtown. Service is to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Freight service is provided by

. Trains travel to destinations in eastern North Carolina and also to points west and south of the city.

Public transit

Tar River Transit provides

public transportation Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whi ...

in and around the city of Rocky Mount, and operates 10 fixed bus routes throughout the city.

Health care

Nash UNC Health Care is a non-profit hospital affiliated with

UNC Health Care UNC Health is a not-for-profit medical system owned by the State of North Carolina and based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It provides services throughout the Research Triangle and North Carolin ...

, which it joined in 2014. It has 345 beds at four different locations. Its flagship facility is Nash General Hospital. When Nash General opened in 1971, it consolidated four different hospitals in the Rocky Mount area, and was the first all-private-room hospital in North Carolina. Other hospitals operated are Nash Day Hospital, Bryant T. Aldridge Rehabilitation Center, and Coastal Plain Hospital. Nash UNC has added more facilities in recent years: a Surgery Pavilion in 2004, a renovated Emergency Department and Nash Heart Center in 2014, and Nash Women's Center in 2016. In 2018, the Danny Talbott Cancer Center facility opened, named in honor of a Rocky Mount athletic legend and cancer survivor.

Notable people

* Andrew B. Anderson Jr.,

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...

lieutenant general and chief of staff, born in Rocky Mount * Lloyd W. Bailey,

faithless elector In the United States Electoral College, a faithless elector is an elector who does not vote for the candidates for U.S. President and U.S. Vice President for whom the elector had pledged to vote, and instead votes for another person for one or ...

in the 1968 Presidential election *

Thurbert Baker Thurbert Earl Baker (born December 16, 1952) served as the first African American Attorney General of the U.S. state of Georgia. He was appointed to the position in 1997 by Governor Zell Miller and served until January 10, 2011. Governor Zell M ...

, the first African-American Attorney General in the State of Georgia born in Rocky Mount * F. C. Barnes,

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

ian born in Rocky Mount *

Luther Barnes Luther Barnes (born March 10, 1954) is a record producer, director, songwriter, composer and lead singer of Luther Barnes and the Sunset Jubilaires and the Red Budd Gospel Choir. Biography Barnes is an ordained minister & native son of Rocky Moun ...

, gospel music producer born in Rocky Mount * Gardner Bishop, barber and civil rights activist, born in Rocky Mount *

Herman Boone Herman Ike Boone (October 28, 1935 – December 18, 2019) was an American high school football coach who coached the 1971 T. C. Williams High School football team to a 13–0 season, state championship, and national runner-up. That season late ...

, coach depicted by

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles Denzel Washington on screen and stage, on stage and screen, Washington has received List of awards and nominations ...

in ''

Remember the Titans ''Remember the Titans'' is a 2000 American biographical sports drama film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Boaz Yakin. The screenplay by Gregory Allen Howard is loosely based on the true story of coach Herman Boone, portrayed b ...

'', born in Rocky Mount * Benjamin Bunn, former

U.S. congressman The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

and first mayor of Rocky Mount, lived in historic Benvenue *

Jim Clack James Thomas Clack (October 26, 1947 – April 7, 2006) was an American professional football center and guard in the National Football League (NFL). He played for 11 seasons between 1971 and 1981. He died of heart failure in 2006 af ...

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

football player who won two

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

championships with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

, born in Rocky Mount * Jeff Collins, former member of 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 ...

Roy Cooper Roy Asberry Cooper III ( ; born June 13, 1957) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 75th List of governors of North Carolina, governor of North Carolina from 2017 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), De ...

governor of North Carolina The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Seventy-five people have held the office since the first state governor, Richard Caswell, took office in 1777. The governor serves a ...

* Elijah L. Daughtridge, 12th

lieutenant governor of North Carolina The lieutenant governor of North Carolina is the second-highest elected official in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is the only elected official to have powers in both the legislative and executive branches of state government. A member of ...

, born in Rocky Mount * Harold Denton,

nuclear physicist Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

, born in Rocky Mount, who advised the President during the

Three Mile Island accident The Three Mile Island accident was a partial nuclear meltdown of the Unit 2 reactor (TMI-2) of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station, located on the Susquehanna River in Londonderry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Londonderry T ...

* Harold Bascom Durham Jr., recipient of the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

for his actions in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

* Mike Easley, former governor of North Carolina and state attorney general, born in Rocky Mount * Phil Ford (basketball), Phil Ford, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, UNC and NBA basketball player, born in Rocky Mount * Jim Gardner (politician), Jim Gardner, businessman and politician, former U.S. congressman and Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina, lieutenant governor, who co-founded

in the city * Maureen Garrett, soap opera actress born in Rocky Mount * Alberta Gay, mother of Marvin Gaye, born in Rocky Mount * Kaye Gibbons, novelist who attended Rocky Mount High School, Rocky Mount Senior High School and wrote ''Ellen Foster'' * Billy Godwin, former head baseball coach for East Carolina University born in Rocky Mount * Brian Goodwin (baseball), Brian Goodwin, MLB baseball player for the Pittsburgh Pirates * Allan Gurganus, author who wrote ''Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All'' born in Rocky Mount * William B. Harrison Jr., Bill Harrison, former CEO and chairman of JPMorgan Chase born in Rocky Mount * Damariscotta Helm, international whistling champion * Matt Hill (musician), Matt Hill, electric blues musician born in Rocky Mount * Chuck Hinton, MLB baseball player born in Rocky Mount * Earle Hyman, actor born in Rocky Mount who portrayed Cliff's father on The Cosby Show * Terrence J, actor and co-anchor of E! News lived in Rocky Mount and attended nearby Northern Nash High School * Jack Kerouac, father of the Beat Generation who resided with family off and on and referred to city as "Testament, Virginia" in ''On the Road'' * Kay Kyser, big band musician, radio and film personality born in Rocky Mount * Buck Leonard, Negro league baseball player; member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame * Westray Battle Long, second director of Women's Army Corps under Dwight D. Eisenhower during World War II born in Rocky Mount * Bill Mathis, American Football League football player who was a running back for the New York Jets * Mae Mercer, Blues singer, actress and producer born in annexed former town of Battleboro *

, jazz pianist born in Rocky Mount * Bill Murray (American football coach), William Murray, former football player and head coach at Duke University born in Rocky Mount * Vann R. Newkirk II, journalist and staff writer for The Atlantic born in Rocky Mount * Thomas J. Pearsall, attorney, politician, and philanthropist. He was the main instigator of the Pearsall Plan and was a co-founder of

. * Charles Pittman (basketball), Charles Pittman, NBA basketball player born in Rocky Mount * Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco Systems who attended Rocky Mount High School * Etaf Rum, The New York Times Best Seller list, ''The New York Times'' best-selling author of ''A Woman is No Man'' who lives in Rocky Mount * Susie Sharp, first female North Carolina Supreme Court justice born in Rocky Mount * Don Stallings, NFL football player who played for the Washington Redskins and for the University of North Carolina in college * Danny Talbott,UNC and NFL quarterback who led Rocky Mount High School to state championships in football, basketball, and baseball * G. Kennedy Thompson, Ken Thompson, former CEO and chairman of Wachovia born in Rocky Mount * Jim Thorpe, Summer Olympics, Olympic gold medalist who played minor league baseball for the Rocky Mount Pines, Rocky Mount Railroaders * Mike Tyson (baseball), Mike Tyson, MLB baseball player born in Rocky Mount * Phil Valentine, talk show radio host was born in Rocky Mount but grew up in nearby Nashville * Tim Valentine, former U.S. congressman born in Rocky Mount * Harold Vick, jazz musician known for his work in the film School Daze (1988) born in Rocky Mount * Buck Williams, NBA basketball player born in Rocky Mount * Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Daytime Emmy Awards, Emmy Award winning actress born in Rocky Mount * Adrian H. Wood, educator and blogger who was born and raised in Rocky Mount

References

External links

* * {{authority control Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Populated places established in 1816 Cities in North Carolina Cities in Nash County, North Carolina Cities in Edgecombe County, North Carolina 1816 establishments in North Carolina