Happy 150th birthday Rocky Mount!

From its humble beginnings as a “rocky mound” to earning a “Best Main Street in the Making” honor, Rocky Mount has blossomed over the last century and a half, creating a great environment to live, work and raise a family. Read more about the remarkable strides the city has taken, from lowering the Rocky Mount crime rate to fighting unemployment. 

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The Rocky Mount Brewmill at Rocky Mount Mills provides mentoring and innovation for those seeking to establish a craft brewery. 

Craft breweries are big business in North Carolina. According to the Rocky Mount Telegram, breweries support 10,000 jobs across the state, representing a $1.2 billion. industry. Find out what this means for job creation in Rocky Mount.

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While most are familiar with some of the more well-known Rocky Mount landmarks, could you identify these locations at close range? We’ve taken photographs of common Rocky Mount places and provided a hint. See if you can guess where these shots were taken...

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If you look at the crime rate in Rocky Mount, you’ll find there’s reason to celebrate—the city is now experiencing the lowest number of part 1 crimes in 39 years. Part 1 crimes include homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson.

Over the past several years, residents and police have joined forces through innovative programs to make the city safer and less dangerous...

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Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy. For millions of Americans, it is the most difficult—and most rewarding---experience of their careers. If small business owners want their startups to succeed, they’ll face a daunting set of challenges. In fact, 8 out of 10 new businesses will fail within the first 18 months.

Owning a business is a hard, but it means much more than merely having a job. Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy, and in Rocky Mount, they’re thriving in the newly-renovated downtown area. If you’re interested in starting a business, there are several local resources that can help...

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Decorative banners downtown announce the CHARM of the Rocky Mount area--- CHARM in this case stands for Central, Historic, Arts, Rocky Mount.  Many longtime residents recall a time when the downtown area was so busy, it was difficult to find a place to park. Today, Rocky Mount is undergoing a renaissance, complete with jazzy tunes dancing on the air from the Prime Smokehouse barbecue restaurant and new businesses making their homes in the renovated Douglas Block.

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How many hotel rooms does Rocky Mount? If you live in the city limits of Rocky Mount, do you pay more than the median monthly rent? Do you work at one of the top 5 employers? Find out more in this informative infographic.

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The crack of a baseball bat. The smell of fresh-cut crash. Cheers bursting from the dugout. Kicking up dust while sliding into home base.  These sights and sounds represent something much larger than "America's National Pastime." For area youth, these images represent a connection with the past that gives them a brighter future.

Baseball is also a Rocky Mount tradition; one of the sport’s most celebrated athletes has deep roots in Eastern North Carolina. Baseball great Buck Leonard – often called the "black Lou Gehrig" -- was born in Rocky Mount. Most noted for playing for the Homestead Grays, Leonard was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.

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CompStat stands for COMPuter STATistics. Crime statistics are collected and mapped. Officers are able to have accurate, timely intelligence that helps them rapidly deploy as needed. Each officer can follow up and assess the safety and security of his or her “beat.”It's used by police departments across the country as one of several crime reduction initiatives. New York City is just one of the many success stories.

In 1993, New York City had 1,946 murders. The system was implemented in 1994. In 2015, the murder rate was down to 352. CompStat works effectively hand-in-hand with other programs to make communities safer and less dangerous.

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The Rocky Mount area has been selected as the location for the CSX railroad Carolina Connector intermodal terminal. It will battle local unemployment by providing up to 300 construction jobs and 300 permanent terminal jobs in Rocky Mount. Statewide, the project will provide roughly 1,500 jobs.

Beyond the soothing, familiar rattle of the train rolling through downtown is a piece of history. The railroads are closely intertwined with Rocky Mount’s development, dating back to 1845, when the Wilmington-Weldon Railroad became the main hub through the city. Now, a new era is dawning as a part of the railroad’s legacy.

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