Rocky Mount, Virginia
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Rocky Mount is a town in and the
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 ...
of
Franklin County, Virginia Franklin County is a county located in the Blue Ridge foothills of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 54,477. Its county seat is Rocky Mount. Franklin County is part of the Roanoke metro ...
, United States. The town is part of the
Roanoke metropolitan area The Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area is a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in Virginia as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Roanoke MSA is sometimes referred to as the Roanoke Valley, even though the ...
, and had a population of 4,903 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the Roanoke Region of Virginia.


History

Robert Hill built a block house (fortified residence and trading post) in the 1740s, for trading with Native Americans. English settlers did not arrive until 1760. They named Rocky Mount for a steep cliff near the town. The area originally consisted of two adjacent villages, Rocky Mount and Mount Pleasant. Washington Iron Furnace was built by James Callaway and Jeremiah Early; its site was on what is now Main Street. It was operated by Callaway's heirs and Peter Saunders until 1850, when it was damaged by a flood. Repairs and rebuilding were stopped by the breakout of
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 first court session was held at Rocky Mount in 1786 following the Revolutionary War. It was held in Callaway's home until he deeded land to the town on which to build the courthouse. The first was made of logs. Rocky Mount was assigned a post office in 1795. The town was divided into lots in 1804. Jeremiah's son John Early represented the county (part-time) in the Virginia House of Delegates and served as sheriff. He operated a plantation nearby. The courthouse was replaced in 1831. By 1836 the iron furnace employed 100 people. The town had about 275 residents; it had 30 houses and several businesses, including three grocery stores and a newspaper/printing office. The oldest dwelling is "Mount Pleasant", built overlooking the courthouse in 1829 for Caleb Tate (the court clerk for nearly 40 years, from 1797-1835). Its detached brick kitchen, built circa 1820, is the oldest building in town. The Rocky Mount Turnpike Company incorporated in 1846 and a bank was founded shortly afterward, but neither prospered. During the Civil War, numerous planter families from the Tidewater region sought refuge in Rocky Mount. Many brought numerous black American
slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
with them, in part trying to ensure they did not escape to Union forces. Among these were the immediate past governor, Henry A. Wise, who settled his family here from his plantation on the Elizabeth River before he started serving as a Confederate general. Jubal Anderson Early, who became a Confederate general during the war, was born on a plantation nearby. Before the war, he served one term representing Franklin County in the Virginia House of Delegates and more than a decade as Commonwealth's attorney (prosecutor). After the war, he resumed his legal practice here and in
Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner and Abolitionism, abolitionist John Lynch (1740–1820), J ...
. His office building in Rocky Mount was demolished in 1937. One of the oldest buildings constructed in that era that still survives was built for Dr. Thomas Greer in 1861. Despite this, there are two older buildings constructed between 1850-1854, which are both still used as law offices to this day. The town's clerk, Robert A. Scott, issued scrip to assist families of Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. The Confederate government requisitioned slaves from various planters in the county to work on Richmond's defenses. Rocky Mount had no battles, although Union Gen. George Stoneman and troops passed through the county in the war's final days. In 1867, the
Freedmen's Bureau The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was a U.S. government agency of early post American Civil War Reconstruction, assisting freedmen (i.e., former enslaved people) in the ...
under William F. DeKnight opened a Sunday school in Rocky Mount; about a third of the residents were black American freedmen. No day school was established for freedmen's children until much later. Booker Taliaferro Washington was born enslaved in Franklin County. After the war, his mother moved with him to the free state of West Virginia for his education. He later studied at the
Hampton Institute Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missiona ...
, established in eastern Virginia for the education of blacks. The area's major cash crop both before and after the Civil War was
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 ...
. In 1873, Rocky Mount incorporated as a town and absorbed the smaller village of Mount Pleasant, establishing its present boundaries. Former court clerk Robert Scott was elected as the first mayor. Rocky Mount's population was about 400 people in 1870, 600 in 1897, and about 1100 in 1920. In 1880, the Franklin and Pittsylvania Railroad connected Rocky Mount to Danville and Lynchburg via
Pittsylvania County, Virginia Pittsylvania County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 60,501. The county seat is Chatham. Pittsylvania County is included in the Danville, VA Micropolitan Statistical ...
. Most of the buildings in town burned in a destructive fire in 1889. Another railroad was constructed through town about 1892, and stimulated industrial and commercial development. The railroad (known as the Norfolk and Western Railway) was nicknamed the "Pumpkin Vine" because of its route between
Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It lies in Southwest Virginia, along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanok ...
and
Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...
. Canadawas y Mills (a gristmill and box factory) was built in 1898. Nathanial V. Angle, a former schoolteacher who became an entrepreneur, built the Bald Knob furniture factory in 1903. (It became the Lane Furniture Company in 1957 and is known as the MW Manufacturing Company in the 21st century). By World War I, N.V. Angle owned a furniture and grocery stores, a lumberyard, tobacco house, agricultural implement store, and the area's first Ford automobile dealership. Much of the town's historic architecture, both residential and commercial, dates from the first decades of the 20th century. Only the Lodge Rooms (Colored), built in 1900, remains of the former thriving black American community on West Court Street. The furniture and textile workers needed housing, and contractors also built more elaborate (including Victorian-style) dwellings for managers and professionals. Rocky Mount is roughly halfway between Roanoke and
Martinsville, Virginia Martinsville is an Political subdivisions of Virginia#Independent cities, independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 13, ...
, which likewise developed furniture manufacturing and textile industries early in the 20th century. The present Franklin County courthouse was constructed in 1909 (two years after the Norfolk and Western freight and passenger station). It was modeled on the Roanoke County courthouse in
Salem, Virginia Salem is an independent city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,346. It is the county seat of Roanoke County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combine ...
. The town's growth was reflected in construction of new churches. Trinity Episcopal Church and its Rectory were both built in 1874 and survived the 1889 fire. The church was moved back from Main Street in 1906. The
African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Methodist denomination based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan theology, Wesleyan–Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, connexional polity. It ...
, built before the fire, no longer exists. The Presbyterian Church (built by 1880) reopened shortly after the fire. The Methodists rebuilt their church of brick; they replace Scott Memorial Church again in 1925. The Baptist Church (colored) built in 1907 was later deconsecrated and became a business. The Bethel AME church, built before World War I, continues to be in active use. A Coca-Cola bottling plant opened in town circa 1920. The area's oldest car dealership (Chevrolet) dates from 1926 (although housed in a building from 1916). Ryland Goode also established a car dealership for Dodges and Hudsons that year. The building for the
International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated IH or International) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household equipment, and more. It wa ...
dealership dates from 1946; the
John Deere Deere & Company, Trade name, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, Transmission (mechanical device), transmi ...
dealership (built 1940) has been adapted for use as the county's Developmental Center. New industries continued to be established before World War II. Around 1940 Sealtest established a dairy bottling plant and Exchange Milling opened an animal feed processing plant. The Art Deco-style People's National Bank was built in 1928. Public schools were segregated, and those for black students were underfunded. In 1915, Rocky Mount appropriated $2,200 to build an eight-room brick school for white students, complete with central heating and indoor plumbing. The same year black residents built Rocky Mount Colored School and dormitory, at their own expense, on Bald Knob outside the town limits. The town became a school district and in 1924 built a high school for white students. By 1940 the town's white students had 16 teachers. Only seven black American teachers "struggled with the problems of their race in their own schools." Around that time, a foundation was established to mark Booker T. Washington's birthplace. In 1952 it donated 6 acres of land on which to build a modern, four-room school for black students. That opened shortly before the start of Massive Resistance to school desegregation in Virginia. It was operated until 1966, when the U.S. Supreme Court found subsidies for segregated schools (much used by the county's white schoolchildren) to be unconstitutional. This structure has been adapted for use as an administrative building of the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
. Rocky Mount's brick Municipal Building was built in 1929. 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 ...
of the President Franklin D. Roosevelt administration built the United States Post Office in 1936, during the Great Depression. The county jail was built in the Art Moderne style in 1938, also a depression project. Investment in infrastructure was increased by the federal government. The town applied for funds to upgrade its sewer system. The
New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...
project with most effects may have been work on U.S. Route 220 and state route 40 near the town. The WPA and prominent local businessman N. V. Angle drained a swamp and developed the land for Mary Elizabeth Park, named for Angle's wife. It is now maintained by the local Presbyterian church (although Angle was a Methodist). Before World War II, Rocky Mount's industries included a silk mill and a door and sash window factory, in addition to Angle's furniture company. The library, constructed in 1940, was one of ten funded by an anonymous donor in rural Virginia counties in that era. It now serves as an administration building. The county's administration building, built in 1967, is along the same street and is named for Virgil Goode Sr., former Virginia House delegate and Commonwealth's attorney. In 1990, local residents saved the former Norfolk and Western station. It has been redeveloped as a tourist information center. The Booker T. Washington National Monument, Evergreen-Callaway-Deyerle House, The Farm, Greer House, Rocky Mount Historic District, Washington Iron Furnace, and Woods-Meade House are listed on 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 ...
.


Geography

Rocky Mount is located at the center of Franklin County at (36.999855, −79.889673). U.S. Route 220 passes through the east side of town as a limited-access bypass, leading north to Roanoke and south to Martinsville.
Virginia State Route 40 State Route 40 (SR 40) is a primary state highway in the southern part of the U.S. state of Virginia. It runs from State Route 8 (Virginia), SR 8 at Woolwine, Virginia, Woolwine east to State Route 10 (Virginia), SR 10 at Spring Grove, Virginia ...
passes through the center of Rocky Mount as Pell Avenue and Franklin Street, leading east to Gretna and southwest to Ferrum. 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 town has a total area of , of which , or 0.39%, is water. The Pigg River, an east-flowing tributary of the
Roanoke River The Roanoke River ( ) runs long through southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States. A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the ...
, forms the southern border of the town. The summit of Grassy Hill is in the northern part of town.


Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, 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 ...
, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.


Demographics


2020 census

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2020, there were 4,903 people and 2,063 households residing in the town. There were 2,307 housing units. The racial makeup of the town was 72.4% White, 20.3% Black, 0.2% American Indian, 1.4% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 2.0% from other races, and 3.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.6% of the population. The median income for a household in the town was $46,021 and the median income for a family was $56,250.


2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,066 people, 1,698 households, and 1,018 families residing in the town. 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 886.5 people per square mile (342.0/km2). There were 1,796 housing units at an average density of 391.6 per square mile (151.1/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 74.50% White, 22.26% African American, 0.27% Native American, 1.11% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.49% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.67% of the population. There were 1,698 households, out of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.2% 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, 15.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 36.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.87. In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.4% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 23.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $26,927, and the median income for a family was $38,688. Males had a median income of $30,947 versus $22,472 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 town was $16,207. About 16.6% of families and 14.1% 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 17.6% of those under age 18 and 14.0% of those age 65 or over.


Notable people

* Joey Arrington, racing driver * Jane Derby, fashion designer, was born here *
Jubal A. Early Jubal Anderson Early (November 3, 1816 – March 2, 1894) was an American lawyer, politician and military officer who served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, Civil War. Trained at the United States Military Academy, ...
, Confederate general, had his law office here for several years and lived here * Ron Hodges, former
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
catcher, was born and grew up in Rocky Mount * Jesse L. Martin, actor, was born and grew up here *
Virgil Goode Virgil Hamlin Goode Jr. ( born October 17, 1946) is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 5th congressional district of Virginia from 1997 to 2009. He was initially a Democrat, but beca ...
, politician, grew up here * Satch Worley, racing driver


Further reading

* * *Greer, T. Keister. ''The Great Moonshine Conspiracy Trial of 1935'', History House Press, 2003 *Bondurant, Matt. ''
The Wettest County in the World ''The Wettest County in the World'' is a 2008 historical novel by Matt Bondurant, an American writer who features his grandfather Jack and grand-uncles Forrest and Howard as the main characters in the novel. The book tells of the trio during ...
'' (2008)


References


External links

* * {{Authority control Towns in Franklin County, Virginia County seats in Virginia Populated places established in 1760 Towns in Virginia