History of Rock Hill

Rock Hill found it’s beginning in 1948, when some of the first land owners in the area, the White family,  Black family and Moore family, decided it would be advantageous to allow the Charlotte and Southern Railway to build a railway and depot near their properties. The families gave the railway a right of way to come through their lands and the railway construction began in 1948.  Along the path, the construction workers came upon a small flinty hill, which they marked on the railway map as “The Rocky Hill”. In 1952, A US Post Office was established, and the first passenger train arrived at the Rock Hill depot station. A village built up around the post office and depot station. The town was incorporated and officially named in 1892.

During the Civil War, the depot was a transfer station for Confederate soldiers and supplies moving to and from battle front lines.There was no hospital, so many towns people cared for the sick and injured in their homes.

In 1862, farmers in the area switched from cotton crops to growing corn which produced more food.  Many former wealthy landowners were forced to sell their land to survive. Some started small businesses downtown and town life became more prevalent and important. Most of the merchants in town around 1870 were former Confederate Soldiers who were trying to make a new start.  There were no sidewalks in the town until 1881 when the first sidewalk was poured in front of the town Bordello. 

There were 2 significant events in Rock Hill during the Civil Rights movement which drew national attention. In 1961, 9 African American men staged a sit in at a segregated lunch counter downtown. The location is currently known as “The Five and Dine”. The names of the activists are engraved. Their offense was officially recorded as  “refusing to stop singing hymns”.   Also, in 1961, Rock Hill was the first stop in the Deep South of the Freedom Riders. These individuals boarded buses in Washington DC travelling south to test the 1960 ruling which outlawed segregation in public places. When the leaders stepped off the bus they were beaten by a white mob. There are two historical markers placed in these locations as a salute and to honor these activists.

Rock Hill is now a thriving city which combines modernization and history with great hospitality and style.  It is the fourth largest city in the Charlotte , NC metropolitan area and the fifth largest city in the state of South Carolina.