Rocky Mount | |
|---|---|
 Rocky Mount City Lake Park | |
 Flag  Seal  Logo | |
| Nickname: City On The Rise | |
| Motto: "The Center Of It All" | |
 | |
  Rocky Mount  Rocky Mount | |
| Coordinates:35°58′06″N77°48′16″W / 35.96833°N 77.80444°W /35.96833; -77.80444 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  North Carolina |
| Counties | Edgecombe,Nash |
| Founded | March 22, 1816 |
| Incorporated | February 19, 1867 |
| Named after | Rocky mounds along theTar River[1] |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council–Manager |
| • Mayor | Sandy Roberson |
| • City manager | Peter Varney |
| • City council | Members
|
| Area | |
• Total | 44.89 sq mi (116.27 km2) |
| • Land | 44.68 sq mi (115.73 km2) |
| • Water | 0.21 sq mi (0.54 km2) 0.47% |
| Elevation | 85 ft (26 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 54,341 |
• Estimate (2023) | 54,245 |
| • Density | 1,216.14/sq mi (469.55/km2) |
| • Urban | 63,297 (US:432nd)[4] |
| • Urban density | 1,408.0/sq mi (543.6/km2) |
| • Metro | 145,383 (US:295th) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| ZIP Codes | 27801, 27802, 27803, 27804, 27809, 27815 |
| Area code | 252 |
| FIPS code | 37-57500 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2404643[3] |
| Interstate Highways |   |
| U.S. Highways |   |
| State Highways |    |
| Website | www |
Rocky Mount is a city inNash andEdgecombe counties in theU.S. state ofNorth Carolina.[6][7] The city's population was 54,341 as of the2020 census, making it the20th-most populous city in North Carolina.[8] The city is 45 mi (72 km) east ofRaleigh, the state capital.
It is the principal city of theRocky Mount metropolitan area—often called the "Twin Counties"—which had an estimated population of 145,383 in 2023.[9][5] Rocky Mount is also an anchor city of theRocky Mount-Wilson-Roanoke Rapids, NC Combined Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 288,366 in 2023.[5]
English and Scots traders encountered the indigenous people in this area of the falls of theTar River 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.[10][11] Rocky Mount has twice received theAll-America City Award from theNational Civic League: in 1969 and 1999.[12]
The region around theTar River was continuously inhabited by various cultures ofindigenous people for 12,000 years. It had long been home to the historicTuscarora people, who spoke anIroquoian language.[13] After English colonists and indigenous allies waged theTuscarora War in the early 1700s; most survivors migrated to the North. The main party of the Tuscarora settled by 1722 with other Iroquoian peoples of theFive Nations, south of theGreat Lakes in what became central and western New York. They became the Sixth Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy.
More English speakers began to settle the area along theTar River.[14] They settled along thefall line between thePiedmont and coastal plain, below which the rivers were navigable to the coast. The difference in height meant that the downstream waters could powermills.[13]
The Falls of the Tar River Primitive Baptist Church was established in 1757.[15] 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.[16]
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 secondcotton mill in the state of North Carolina, was built there soon after in 1818.[7] 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 ofenslaved 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.[9][17]
The Battle family was also involved in the construction of the longest continuous railroad in the world up to that time, theWilmington and Weldon Railroad, which ran about two miles (3 km) east of the mill.[9] It connected the area to major ports inVirginia to the north and the port ofWilmington, North Carolina to the south. The tracks first reached Rocky Mount onChristmas Eve 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 Countyapple brandy 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.[7] TheRaleigh-Tarboro stage route also passed just south of Rocky Mount (roughly whereI-95 andU.S. 64 run today), and for a time was the logical debarking point for railroad travelers wishing to proceed east or west.[7]
During theCivil War, the surrounding region was raided in 1863 byUnion troops under the command of Brigadier GeneralEdward E. Potter. They burned down the mill, which suppliedConfederate yarn and cloth. After the war ended, the owners rebuilt the mill.[18] On February 19, 1867,the village outside the mill, which was largely devoted to worker housing, was incorporated as a town.[7]
In the latter half of the 19th century, thetobacco industry became established in the state. Adjacent to the sandycoastal plain, Rocky Mount was well situated to take advantage of the rapidly rising demand for brightleaftobacco that grew best in the sandy soil.[19] 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.[20] By the end of the 19th century, tobacco had surpassedKing Cotton as the town's primary agricultural product.[19]
_-_Nash_County_-_Rocky_Mount_-_ED_64-42_to_61_-_NARA_-_22117974.jpg)
At the turn of the 20th century, Rocky Mount became the northern headquarters of theAtlantic Coast Line Railroad, which located its major repair shops and yard facilities in the town. With it came an influx of railroad workers.[15] 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.[7] A vibrantcentral business district arose.[21]
As in the rest of theSouth, North Carolina had imposed legalracial segregation, including restrictions and discrimination in housing. White suburbs developed largely on the west side of town, such asVilla Place andWest Haven. Black neighborhoods, such as Crosstown and Around the "Y", where jazz musicianThelonious Monk was born,[22] were concentrated on the east side of town.
Several notableCivil Rights events occurred in Rocky Mount. In 1946,African-American tobacco warehouse workers voted to organize in Rocky Mount as part of a broader nationwide movement known asOperation Dixie. It included voter registration to fight against thedisenfranchisement of blacks and to take other political action against segregation.[23] On November 27, 1962,Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech at Booker T. Washington High School; he used his refrain "I have a dream" a year before his better known delivery at theMarch on Washington, which became famous.[24][25]
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.[26]
AfterWWII, 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 asHardee's.[27]
New higher education facilities were founded, includingNorth Carolina Wesleyan College in 1956 andNash Community College andEdgecombe Community College in 1968. In 1970, Rocky Mount received anAll-America City Award. In the 1970s the city's hospitals were consolidated underNash General Hospital. That was also the period of completion ofRocky Mount–Wilson Regional Airport.[28][7]
From the 1980s, the inner city sufferedurban decay, as businesses had moved out to suburban highway locations. Rocky Mount's downtown deteriorated as new neighborhoods and shopping malls were built, such asGolden East Crossing. The city expanded its boundaries by annexation; for instance, in 1996, annexing the town ofBattleboro to the north of the city.[29][30] In 1999, the city won its second All-America City Award.[12]
In the fall of 1999 two hurricanes made landfall ineastern North Carolina. Both passed over Rocky Mount:Hurricane Dennis as a tropical storm in August with 20 inches (510 mm) of rain andHurricane Floyd in September with nearly 17 inches (430 mm) 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.[29][31][32]
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 thetrain station and Douglas Block, or repurpose them, such as theImperial Centre for Arts and Sciences.[33]
In 2007,Capitol Broadcasting Company bought Rocky Mount Mills. It is adapting it as a mixed-use campus ofbreweries, restaurants, residential lofts, and event space.[34] Major new community projects include the 143-acre (58 ha)sports complex and 165,000-square-foot (15,300 m2) downtownevent center.[29] In 2019,CSX, the successor company of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, broke ground on a newintermodal cargo terminal that is expected to stimulate the local economy in the next decade.[35]
Rocky Mount is located in northeastern North Carolina, at thefall line between theAtlantic Coastal Plain to the east and thePiedmont region to the west. The city is 58 miles (93 km) east ofRaleigh, the state capital, 91 miles (146 km) northeast ofFayetteville, 144 miles (232 km) north ofWilmington, 19 miles (31 km) north ofWilson, 42 miles (68 km) south ofRoanoke Rapids, and 127 miles (204 km) south ofRichmond, Virginia.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 44.89 square miles (116.3 km2), of which 44.68 square miles (115.7 km2) is land and 0.21 square miles (0.54 km2) (0.47%) is water.[2] TheTar River passes through the city from west to east, crossing the fall line at Upper Falls and Little Falls and descending 25 feet (7.6 m) 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.
Situated near the Tar River, theRocky 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 theNational Register of Historic Places.[36]
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.[37]
Rocky Mount has ahumid subtropical climate (KöppenCfa) characterized by cool, sometimes moderately cold winters, and hot, humid summers.[38] The average high temperatures range from 51 °F (11 °C) in the winter to around 90 °F (32 °C) in the summer. The average low temperatures range from 31 °F (−1 °C) in the winter to around 69 °F (21 °C) in the summer.[39]
| Climate data for Rocky Mount, North Carolina (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1954–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 78 (26) | 82 (28) | 89 (32) | 96 (36) | 98 (37) | 106 (41) | 105 (41) | 103 (39) | 102 (39) | 101 (38) | 86 (30) | 80 (27) | 106 (41) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 50.3 (10.2) | 53.6 (12.0) | 60.9 (16.1) | 71.2 (21.8) | 78.0 (25.6) | 85.3 (29.6) | 88.4 (31.3) | 85.3 (29.6) | 81.3 (27.4) | 72.2 (22.3) | 64.7 (18.2) | 55.0 (12.8) | 70.5 (21.4) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 40.5 (4.7) | 42.6 (5.9) | 49.5 (9.7) | 59.3 (15.2) | 67.5 (19.7) | 75.4 (24.1) | 78.9 (26.1) | 76.3 (24.6) | 71.7 (22.1) | 61.0 (16.1) | 51.7 (10.9) | 44.3 (6.8) | 59.9 (15.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 30.6 (−0.8) | 31.7 (−0.2) | 38.1 (3.4) | 47.3 (8.5) | 57.0 (13.9) | 65.4 (18.6) | 69.3 (20.7) | 67.4 (19.7) | 62.2 (16.8) | 49.7 (9.8) | 38.8 (3.8) | 33.7 (0.9) | 49.3 (9.6) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −8 (−22) | 4 (−16) | 11 (−12) | 25 (−4) | 32 (0) | 43 (6) | 51 (11) | 45 (7) | 37 (3) | 19 (−7) | 16 (−9) | 0 (−18) | −8 (−22) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 3.22 (82) | 3.00 (76) | 3.85 (98) | 3.54 (90) | 3.63 (92) | 4.81 (122) | 5.10 (130) | 5.28 (134) | 6.15 (156) | 3.55 (90) | 3.20 (81) | 3.23 (82) | 48.56 (1,233) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 1.9 (4.8) | 0.3 (0.76) | 0.2 (0.51) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.4 (1.0) | 2.8 (7.1) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.0 in) | 8.1 | 7.2 | 8.2 | 7.7 | 8.3 | 9.1 | 9.8 | 8.6 | 7.7 | 6.1 | 6.5 | 7.8 | 95.1 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.1 in) | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.8 |
| Source 1:NOAA[40][41] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Weather.com[39] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 357 | — | |
| 1880 | 552 | 54.6% | |
| 1890 | 816 | 47.8% | |
| 1900 | 2,937 | 259.9% | |
| 1910 | 8,051 | 174.1% | |
| 1920 | 12,742 | 58.3% | |
| 1930 | 21,412 | 68.0% | |
| 1940 | 25,568 | 19.4% | |
| 1950 | 27,697 | 8.3% | |
| 1960 | 32,147 | 16.1% | |
| 1970 | 34,284 | 6.6% | |
| 1980 | 41,283 | 20.4% | |
| 1990 | 48,997 | 18.7% | |
| 2000 | 55,893 | 14.1% | |
| 2010 | 57,477 | 2.8% | |
| 2020 | 54,341 | −5.5% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 54,245 | [8] | −0.2% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[42] 2020[8] | |||
| Race / Ethnicity(NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000[43] | Pop 2010[44] | Pop 2020[45] | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 22,548 | 18,610 | 14,470 | 40.34% | 32.38% | 26.63% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 31,175 | 35,069 | 34,426 | 55.78% | 61.01% | 63.35% |
| Native American orAlaska Native alone (NH) | 170 | 329 | 298 | 0.30% | 0.57% | 0.55% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 375 | 540 | 757 | 0.67% | 0.94% | 1.39% |
| Native Hawaiian orPacific Islander alone (NH) | 12 | 10 | 26 | 0.02% | 0.02% | 0.05% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 69 | 68 | 238 | 0.12% | 0.12% | 0.44% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 511 | 745 | 1,454 | 0.91% | 1.30% | 2.68% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1,033 | 2,106 | 2,672 | 1.85% | 3.66% | 4.92% |
| Total | 55,893 | 57,477 | 54,341 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the2020 census, there were 54,341 people, 22,260 households, and 14,334 families residing in the city.
At the2010 census, there were 57,477 people, 23,097 households, and 14,639 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,312.6 inhabitants per square mile (506.8 inhabitants/km2). The city had 26,953 housing units. Theracial makeup of the city was 61.3%African American, 32.4%White, 0.6%Native American, 1.0%Asian, and 1.6% from two or more races.Hispanics orLatinos 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. Theper capita income for the city was $21,779. About 19.0% of the population is below thepoverty line.[46]
Rocky Mount's population is 40.3% religiously affiliated, below the state average of 48.9%.[47]Christianity is the largestreligion, withBaptists (13.3%) making up the largest religious group, followed byPentecostals (4.5%) andMethodists (3.5%).Presbyterians (1.5%),Episcopalians (0.9%), andCatholics (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 (0.5%) has the second-largest percentage of adherents after the total for Christian sects.[48]
The economy of theRocky 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.[10][11]
Rocky Mount is located 45 mi (72 km) from the state capitalRaleigh and the associatedResearch Triangle. This has helped attract new companies to Rocky Mount seeking skilled labor and a lower costs of living and doing business.[10]
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.[49][50]
In 2019,CSX Transportation began construction of a $200 million cargo terminal in Rocky Mount.[51][35]
Below is a list of some of the largest employers in the metropolitan area as of 2018.[52]
| # | Employer | No. of employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pfizer | 3,200[53] |
| 2 | Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools | 2,275 |
| 3 | Cummins–Rocky Mount Engine Plant | 1,800 |
| 4 | Nash UNC Health Care | 1,600 |
| 5 | Edgecombe County Public Schools | 1,100 |
| 6 | QVC Distribution center | 1,100 |
| 7 | CenturyLink | 1,000 |
| 8 | Sara Lee Frozen Bakery | 950 |
| 9 | Alorica | 885 |
| 10 | City of Rocky Mount | 850 |
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 aroundUS 301 (Wesleyan Boulevard). Two examples areGolden East Crossing and Englewood Square.[54][55]
In the downtown, the Douglas Block is a commercial area that was a former African-American business district.[56] Station Square is a shopping area located next to city hall and the train station.[57]
The city is home to multiple venues for the performing arts. TheImperial Centre for the Arts and Sciences hosts the Maria V. Howard Arts Center, a Children's Museum and Science Center, and a community theater.[58] TheDunn 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.[59][60] Most recently, theRocky Mount Event Center opened in downtown with space for up to 5,000 seats for entertainment and sporting events.[61]
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 popularAmerican Tobacco campus in downtownDurham, North Carolina. Nearby are dozens of historical homes for rent in theRocky Mount Mills Village.[62][63] 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.[11]
A Rocky Mount RailroadMuseum has been in the planning stages for a number of years. Therailroad 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.[27][64][65] It has been proposed for location inside the train station.[66]
The area includes individually recognized properties, such as theBellamy-Philips House,Bellemonte,Benvenue,Machaven,The Meadows,Rocky Mount Electric Power Plant,Rocky Mount Mills, andStonewall.
It also has numerous recognized districts:Edgemont Historic District,Falls Road Historic District,Lincoln Park Historic District,Rocky Mount Central City Historic District,Rocky Mount Mills Village Historic District,Villa Place Historic District, andWest Haven Historic District; all are listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.[67]
Rocky Mount is a major center for youthsports tourism, as it is a midpoint betweenNew York andFlorida alongI-95.[68] TheRocky 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 andElizabeth City State University's annual Down East Viking Classic.[69] 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.[68][70]
Tar River Trail is a 7-mile (11 km) 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 theGreat Depression by theWorks Progress Administration, and the 57-acre (23 ha)biodiverse Battle Park centered on the falls of the Tar River.[71][72] The trail also includes a 220-foot (67 m) long, clear-span, woodenbridge, believed to be the longest such wooden bridge in the United States.[73]
The city of Rocky Mount has acouncil-manager form of government. The city is divided into sevenwards with a total of seven council members elected to thecity council, one from each ward. Members of the city council serve four-yearterms withstaggered elections every two years, while themayor is electedat-large by citizens and serves a four-year term. The mayor isex officio chair of the city council and votes only in case of a tie. The council appoints acity manager to serve as chief administrative officer of day-to-day affairs of government. As of 2022, the current city manager is Peter Varney.[74]
Since the city straddles the Nash County-Edgecombe County border, the commissions of both counties are also involved in governance of the city.[75]
North Carolina Wesleyan University is a four-year privateliberal arts 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.[76]
The city is also served byNash Community College, which has a brewing, distillation, and fermentation program in partnership with theMills.[77]Edgecombe Community College has a downtown campus specializing in biotechnology and medical simulation, one of only two such centers in the state.[78]Shaw University's College of Adult and Professional Education (C.A.P.E.) has a satellite campus inMills Village.[79]
The city of Rocky Mount is primarily served by theNash-Rocky Mount Public School System, which as a whole has 15,000 students in 28 schools.[80] Parts of the city inEdgecombe County are also served by theEdgecombe County Public Schools system.[81] Public high schools includeNash Central High School,Northern Nash High School,Rocky Mount High School, Southwest Edgecombe High School andSouthern 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 serves the community as its majorpublic library with affiliated libraries throughout the Twin Counties. It recently became part of theState Library'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.[82][83]
Rocky Mount is considered part of theRaleigh-Durham-Fayetteville television and radiomedia market, the 25th largest in the United States. However, multiple broadcast stations in theGreenville-New Bern-Washington market also cover the city.
Locally, WHIG-TV, founded in 1997 and now hosted at Wesleyan College, andWNCR-LD, founded in 2002 and located in downtown, are Rocky Mount's community television stations.[84][85][86]WRQM 90.9 FM is the repeater station of public radio stationWUNC, the localNPR affiliate. In the 1990s, it was known as "Down East Radio" and also hosted at Wesleyan College.[87]
TheRocky Mount Telegram serves as the main daily newspaper for the city of Rocky Mount andsurrounding areas.[88]
.jpg)
The city is served by three major highways:
I-95 to its west.
US 64 (Future I-87) as its main east–west corridor.
US 301 (Wesleyan Boulevard) as its main north–south corridor.In the downtown area, bothUS 64 Bus. (Sunset Avenue / Thomas Street) andUS 301 Bus. (Church Street) serve as major thoroughfares. State highwaysNC 4,NC 43,NC 48 andNC 97 serve the city by connecting to nearby towns.
TheRocky Mount–Wilson Regional Airport (IATA:RWI,ICAO:KRWI,FAALID:RWI) serves the general aviation needs of the surrounding counties. It is on NC 97, 9 miles (14 km) southwest of downtown Rocky Mount. The closest airport with scheduled commercial service isPitt–Greenville Airport (PGV), 40 miles (64 km) to the southeast. Cargo and charter flights in the area also use theKinston Regional Jetport (ISO), 50 miles (80 km) to the south.Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU), is 74 miles (119 km) to the west.
Amtrak provides three north and three southbound trains per day at theRocky Mount station located in downtown. Service is toWashington, D.C.,New York City,Miami andPhiladelphia. Freight service is provided byCSX. Trains travel to destinations in eastern North Carolina and also to points west and south of the city.
Tar River Transit providespublic transportation in and around the city of Rocky Mount, and operates 10 fixed bus routes throughout the city.[89][90]
Nash UNC Health Care is a non-profit hospital affiliated withUNC Health Care, which it joined in 2014. It has 345 beds at four different locations. Its flagship facility is Nash General Hospital.[91] 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.[92] 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, theDanny Talbott Cancer Center facility opened, named in honor of a Rocky Mount athletic legend and cancer survivor.[91][93][94]
Geographic data related toRocky Mount, North Carolina atOpenStreetMapMunicipalities and communities ofEdgecombe County, North Carolina,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| City |  | |
| Towns | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
Municipalities and communities ofNash County, North Carolina,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| City |  | |
| Towns | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
