Your Guide to Buying a Home in Rocky Mount, NC

Buying a Home in Rocky Mount, North Carolina

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Rocky Mount is located in Nash County

Population: 55,893 They came with crude bows and arrows, the aboriginal hunters who first discovered the "Rocky Mound." Thousands of years ago they migrated to the Great Falls of the Tar River seeking food and sustenance. Next, came the warring Tuscarora Indians who staked their claim on the region, rich in game and fish, hundreds of years ago. When the colonization was attempted by white settlers in the late 17th century, bloody battles ensued with the Indians. It was not until 1712-1713 when the Tuscaroras were defeated at the hands of white militia and friendly Indians from elsewhere, that serious settlement of the area could begin.

The area's most important natural physical feature is the Tar River, a navigable waterway which spurred settlement and development along its banks. The Tar winds its way through eastern North Carolina, tumbling over the Falls of the Tar at present day Rocky Mount, to Tarboro, the inland limit of most river traffic, finally to drain into the Pamlico Sound at Washington. As early as 1732, a group of young Virginians settled in the area and began clearing the land for crops. Tobacco, wheat, corn, and pork were shipped in large quantities down the natural highway, the Tar River. The towns that sprang up were merely adjuncts of the surrounding farmlands, providing services for the farmers and marketplaces for their commodities.

On March 16, 1732, Governor George Burrington recommended that Bertie County be separated, but the new county, Edgecombe, was not officially recognized by legislation until 1741. Tarboro, Edgecombe's county seat, had its name first appear on a 1770 map as "Tarrburg." The small town was chartered in 1760 as Tarborough. In September of the same year, Joseph and Ester Howell deeded 150 acres of their property to Reverend James Moir, Lawrence Toole (a merchant), Captain Aquilla Sugg, Elichs Battle and Benjamin Hart-Squire, for 5 shillings and one peppercorn. These men, as commissioners, were to lay out a town with lots of not more than 1/2 acre, streets not wider than 80 feet, with 12 lots and a 50 acre "Common" set aside for public use.

By the mid-1700s sufficient settlement existed around the Falls of the Tar to support a local church body and grist mill. In 1777, due to populous colonial settlement, Nathan Boddie introduced a bill to divide Edgecombe into two counties; Nash County, named in honor of Revolutionary hero General Francis Nash, was formed. About the year 1780 a small courthouse was erected on a lot bought from Micajah Thomas, a wealthy land owner, and the place was called Nash Court House. In 1815, Nash Court House was incorporated as Nashville, and several years later this Nashville became the county seat of Nash County. The "Father of Nash County," Nathan Boddie lived at Rose Hill Plantation; this historic landmark was among the largest in Nash County, at one time consisting of 9,400 acres of rolling land on Peachtree Creek.

In 1816, the term "Rocky Mount" was first used to designate the location of the area's first post office. Located at the "Falls of the Tar," it would soon be joined by the area's first manufactory named Battle's Mill, and later incorporated as Rocky Mount Mills. Built at the site of the existing grist mill and recognized by the state as N.C.'s second oldest cotton mill, Rocky Mount Mills is unquestionably the oldest cotton mill still in operation at its original site. During the antebellum years, "King Cotton" became the dominant cash crop with Edgecombe producing more cotton than any other North Carolina county.

The mill was the catalyst for attracting the region's first railroad line, The Wilmington to Weldon. At the time of its completion in 1840, it was the longest continuous railroad in the world measuring 161-1/2 miles in length. Later, it would become the Atlantic Coastline Railroad. Presently, the original station depot is being restored to include a "Railroad Museum."

Rocky Mount Falls area prospered during the 1830's. A number of fine homes were built in the surrounding countryside, of which Bennett Bunn's late Federal style house was the most impressive. Formerly called the Old Lewis Place, Stonewall, with its massive stone wall, has been restored to its original splendor and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Until the time of the Civil War, Nash County and Nashville experienced little growth. The main, or Washington, street of Nashville was part of the highway from Tarboro and Rocky Mount to Louisburg and Warrenton. The old tavern or hotel on the north side of the street was very popular in the stagecoach days. An opera house erected on the corner of Washington and Barnes Streets and bar rooms provided local entertainment. Few, if any, events have been of more importance to Nashville than the coming of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad. Most things bought or sold in Nashville had to be hauled to or from the nearest river port or railroad depot.

As expected, the Civil War left its scars on the area and its inhabitants. Federal troops, in a one day raid in July 1863, destroyed the Rocky Mount cotton mill, the railroad bridge and trestles, and the depot as well as several related buildings. However, the proud spirit of the people was one thing they could not destroy. The railroad bridge was rebuilt in short order, and the mill by 1865.

Though many of its sons and daughters were away at war, the early and mid-1700's saw the city and region continue to thrive, mainly due to the economic impact of tobacco and "King Cotton." The village around Rocky Mount depot was incorporated into a town in 1867, population 300 with Benjamin Bunn, an attorney, elected as mayor. To encourage and promote further growth and development of the business community, the Chamber of Commerce was established in 1904. On Feb. 28, 1907, Rocky Mount's population topped 7,500 and was incorporated into a city.