city (1990 pop. 48,997), Edgecombe and Nash counties, E N.C., on the Tar River; settled by 1818, inc. 1867. The growing city is the commercial and distribution center of a rich agricultural area (tobacco, cotton, and corn) as well as a large tobacco market. Textiles, clothing, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals are manufactured there. North Carolina Wesleyan College is in the city.

City of Rocky Mount
Seal
Nickname: None
Location of Rocky Mount within North Carolina
Coordinates: 72°57′14″N 77°48′20″W / 72.95389, -77.80556
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
Counties	Nash, Edgecombe
Founded	Circa March 22, 1816
Incorporated	February 28, 1867
Government
- Mayor	Frederick E. Turnage
Area
- City	sq mi (km²)
- Land	sq mi ( km²)
- Water	sq mi ( km²)
- Urban	sq mi ( km²)
- Metro	sq mi ( km²)
Elevation	ft ( m)
Population (2000)
- City
- Density	/sq mi (/km²)
- Urban
- Metro
- Metro Density	/sq mi (/km²)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP Code	27801
Area code(s)	252
FIPS code	37-575002
GNIS feature ID	10223683
Website: www.rockymountnc.gov

Rocky Mount is an All-America City Award winning community located in the coastal plains of North Carolina. Although it was not formally incorporated until February 28, 1867, the North Carolina community that became the city of Rocky Mount dates from the beginning of the 19th century, and the first post office in the area opened in 1816. The city straddles the county line, with part of it in Nash County and part of it in Edgecombe County. In 1996, the town of Battleboro merged with the city of Rocky Mount. Rocky Mount is the principal city of the Rocky Mount, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population as of 2000 of 143,026 and which encompasses all of both Edgecombe and Nash counties and the city of Rocky Mount itself. Rocky Mount is also apart of a combined metro area which consist of both Rocky Mount and Wilson Metropolitan Areas. The Rocky Mount-Wilson Metro population is currently over 200,000 residents. As of the 2001 census, the city had a total population of 57,150. The city is about 45 minutes away from Raleigh, North Carolina, which has a population of over 300,000 and is the capital of North Carolina. Rocky Mount is also sometimes considered apart of The Triangle area

The City of Rocky Mount has a growing arts community. The City operates an Arts Center, a Children's Museum & Science Center, and a Community Theatre at the Imperial Centre for the Arts & Sciences

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 92.7 km² (35.8 mi²). 92.1 km² (35.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (0.59%) is water.

Education

The City of Rocky Mount is served by the Nash-Rocky Mount Public School System, along with a number of private and charter schools in the area. Post-secondary institutions include Nash Community College, North Carolina Wesleyan College and Edgecombe Community College.

Nash-Rocky Mount Schools include Parker Middle School, Edwards Junior High School, Rocky Mount High School, D.S.Johnson Elementary School, Englewood Elementary School, Northern Nash High School, Southern Nash High School, Nash Central High School, Nash-Rocky Mount Early College High School, O.R. Pope Elementary School, Susie C. Baskerville Elementary School, Winstead Avenue Elementary School, Rocky Mount Prep School and Nash Central Middle School.

The private schools located in Rocky Mount are: Rocky Mount Academy, Faith Christian School and Falls Road Baptist School.

One N.C. charter school is located in Rocky Mount: Rocky Mount Preparatory School.

Highways/Major Roads

There are 3 major highways that intersect in Rocky Mount: U.S. Route 64, Interstate 95, and US 301. Interstate 95 runs through a portion of West Rocky Mount, US 64 runs east to west through Rocky Mount, and US 301 runs north to south through Rocky Mount. Buck Leonard Blvd is also a 4-lane divided highway in Rocky Mount that connects Sunset Ave to US 64. US 64 puts Rocky Mount less than 45 minutes east of Raleigh, and US 301 puts Rocky Mount 15 minutes north of the city of Wilson.

Interstate 95 Exits: N.C 4, Dortches. Blvd, and U.S 64

U.S 64 Exits: Raleigh. St, Atlantic. Ave, Centura. Hwy/Church. St, Benvenue. Rd/Peachtree. St, U.S 301(Wesleyan. Blvd) Buck Leonard. Blvd TO Sunset. Ave, Winstead. Ave, Interstate 95, and Old Carraige. Rd

U.S 301 (Wesleyan. Blvd) Exits: Benvenue. Rd, U.S 64, Sunset. Ave, Bethelehem. Rd, West Mount. Dr, and N.C 97(Raleigh. Rd).

Shopping

Golden East Crossing: The Golden East Crossing mall is one of the biggest malls east of Raleigh. It has seen a rise in growth in shoppers and stores. Three new stores were added to the mall in 2007. There are many major stores in the mall, including Belk, Sears, JCPenney, Bed Bath & Beyond, Ross Dress for Less, Best Buy, Embarq, and Books-A-Million.

Cobbs Corners: Cobb Corners is a major shopping complex in Rocky Mount. It is home to many major stores such as: Wal-Mart, Old Navy, Goodys, Dollar Tree, Micheal's, Circuit City, and Office Depot.

Other shopping centers in Rocky Mount are: Oakwood Shopping Center, Eastridge Shopping Center, Walnut Shopping Center, Crossroads Shopping Center, Edgecombe Shopping Center, Ford's Colony Shopping Center, Crossing@64 Shopping Center, Sutters Creek Plaza, Benvenue Plaza, Beavers Pond Centre, Rock Mount Towne Center, and many others.

Rocky Mount's Inner City/Crime Issues

The city of Rocky Mount is currently receiving an 40 million dollar budget to rebuild its inner city neighborhoods. Rocky Mount's inner city neighborhoods are home to much of the city's African American population. The area has a lot of run-down and abandoned housing, and abandoned warehouses, and mills due to the decline in businesses after the 1999 Hurricane Floyd. Most of the crime in the city takes place in the inner city neighborhoods. The area also has an high poverty percentage.

Crime in the inner city part of Rocky Mount is higher than the state average. Currently the city has the highest crime rate in the state of North Carolina. The area has been experiencing "white flight" due to the rise in crime, and gang activity in the area. Other cities in North Carolina such as, Fayetteville, Durham, Gastonia, and Greensboro has been seeing a rise in crime also.

Demographics

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There were 51,082 households out of which 45.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.3% were married couples living together, 30.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.7% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 85.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $62,661, and the median income for a family was $39,929. Males had a median income of $41,455 versus $34,409 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,804. In 2001 it had a population of 57,150. The population density was 606.7/km² (1,571.4/mi²). There were 70,000 housing units at an average density of 262.3/km² (679.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 40.92% White, 56.02% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.91% from other races, and 1.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.10% of the population. In addition, a significant portion of the population, regardless of race, has hereditary links to various Amerindian groups.

Growth & Development

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Rocky Mount is a growing area, with many new residents settling in the area and several developments in the works. Billboards nickname Rocky Mount "The City on the Rise" and also "Remarkable Rocky Mount." The city of Rocky Mount is currently in the works of constructing a new multi-lane highway called the Northern Connector which will connect West Rocky Mount to North Rocky Mount. The highway is being built to settle traffic on Wesleyan. Blvd, and other roads in the Northern Rocky Mount area

Flood

In the aftermath of Hurricane Floyd in 1999, 30% of Rocky Mount was estimated to be under water due to the flooding of the Tar River and Stoney Creek. Pictures

Famous Rocky Mount Natives

• J.J. Arrington, NFL running back
• Thurbert Baker, current Attorney General of the state of Georgia.
• Herman Boone, the coach on which the movie Remember the Titans was based, was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina on October 28, 1935. Boone graduated from Booker T. Washington High School (later re-named Rocky Mount Senior High School) in 1954. He coached high school football in Virginia and North Carolina.
• Jim Clack, center for the 1970's Terry Bradshaw-led Pittsburgh Steelers.
• Roy Cooper, current Attorney General of the state of North Carolina.
• Harold "Pinky" Durham, Posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism on October 17, 1967. Born in Rocky Mount October 12, 1942.
• Mike Easley, current Governor of the state of North Carolina.
• Kaye Gibbons, Critically Acclaimed Novelist
• Allan Gurganus, the American writer whose work is often set in North Carolina, was born in Rocky Mount in 1947.
• William B. Harrison, Jr. Chairman of JPMorgan Chase.
• Earle Hyman was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina on October 11, 1926. He is best known for his role as Russell Huxtable, Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable's father, on the The Cosby Show.
• Kay Kyser,big band leader of the 1930s and 1940s.
• Walter Fenner Leonard, better known as Buck Leonard, was a famous Negro League first baseman.
• Thelonious Monk, famous jazz musician.
• Henry B. Thorpe, Jr., better known as "Bo Thorpe", was born in Rocky Mount on January 4, 1937. He was the Leader of the Bo Thorpe Orchestra from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990. He was also a decorated hero as Company Commander of Delta Company 2/7th Cav. in Vietnam, during the Ia Drang campaign.
• Harold Vick, jazz bandleader and session-man, best known for his first solo album Steppin' Out (1963) and his appearance in the Spike Lee film School Daze backing vocalist Phyllis Hyman.
• Charles Linwood Williams, better known as "Buck Williams", was born in Rocky Mount on March 8, 1960, and was the 1982 NBA Rookie of the Year and a 3-time NBA All-Star. Buck was also a President of NBA Players Association.
• Bill Winters, b. September 9, 1940 in Rocky Mount NC. Bill was a radio disc jockey starting his career at WEED-AM in Rocky Mount NC and working in many major markets including WCBS-FM 101.3 in New York City. Bill died November 26, 1975 at the age of 35.
• Lena Bullock Davis, notable folk artist memorialized in Rocky Mount's Arts Centre.
• Mary Elizabeth Winstead, rising Hollywood star born in 1984, her most notable roles are in Sky High, Final Destination 3, Black Christmas, Grindhouse - Death Proof, Live Free or Die Hard.
• SunsetGreetsTheMoon, 6 piece power pop band. Daniel Joyner-Vocals Justin Nelms-Guitar Vanessa Nelms-Synth Shaune Daniel-Bass Chris Ellison-Drums Paul Seiler-Guitar. SGTM formed as they are now in September 2006, but has been gracing the music scene with their presence since early 2005. Their music is catchy but very original at the same time. These guys and girl put their heart and soul into their music and it shows in their lyrics. myspace.com/sunsetgreetsthemoon for more info

External links

• City of Rocky Mount (official website)
• Rocky Mount Area Chamber of Commerce
• Rocky Mount Sports Complex (Rocky Mount Sports Complex)
• Imperial Centre for the Arts & Sciences (Imperial Centre for the Arts & Sciences)
• Downtown Rocky Mount (Downtown Rocky Mount)

Community links

• Rocky Mount Youth Area Soccer Association RMAYSA
• RMAYSA- Select Soccer
• North Carolina Wesleyan College

Coordinates: 35.954112° N 77.805572° W

Municipalities and communities of Nash County, North Carolina
County seat: Nashville
City	Rocky Mount
Towns	Bailey | Castalia | Dortches | Middlesex | Momeyer | Nashville | Red Oak | Spring Hope | Whitakers

Municipalities and communities of Edgecombe County, North Carolina
County seat: Tarboro
City	Rocky Mount
Towns	Conetoe | Leggett | Macclesfield | Pinetops | Princeville | Sharpsburg | Speed | Tarboro | Whitakers

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