The rich agricultural land of northeastern North Carolina was originally settled in the mid-18th century and, in 1777, divided into two counties: Edgecombe and Nash. In 1818, the Battle family established a textile mill that remained in operation for more than 175 years and became the basis for the city of Rocky Mount. The Atlantic Coastline Railroad chose the area as its repair shop in 1899 and, at the turn of the 20th century, the area was booming. Diverse communities produced outstanding educators, groundbreaking physicians, and business leaders. Residents included Olympians, baseball hall of famer Buck Leonard, and basketball greats Phil Ford and Buck Williams. Creative citizens became award-winning musicians, painters, and writers, like novelist Kaye Gibbons and entertainer Kaye Kyser. Military service in conflicts from the Revolutionary War to the Iraq War included generals, admirals, and a Medal of Honor recipient. Legendary Locals of Edgecombe and Nash Counties celebrates some of the individuals who have left their mark.

Excerpt from Hill's Rocky Mount (Edgecombe County, N. C.) City Directory, 1936, Vol. 10: Containing an Alphabetical Directory of Business Concerns and Private Citizens, a Directory of Householders, Occupants of Office Buildings and Other Business Places The alphabetical list OF names of residents and business and professional concerns is included in pages 419 to 315. This is the only record in existence that aims to show the name, marital status, occupation and address of each adult resident of Rocky Mount, and the name, official personnel, nature and address of each firm and corporation in the city. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.