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Rock Hill, South Carolina

Rock Hill, South Carolina
City
City of Rock Hill
Downtown Rock Hill
Downtown Rock Hill
Official seal of Rock Hill, South Carolina
Seal
Nickname(s): The Gateway to South Carolina; Football City USA
Motto: Always On.
Location of Rock Hill in South Carolina
Location of Rock Hill in South Carolina
Coordinates: 34°56′17″N 81°1′34″W / 34.93806°N 81.02611°W / 34.93806; -81.02611Coordinates: 34°56′17″N 81°1′34″W / 34.93806°N 81.02611°W / 34.93806; -81.02611
Country United States
State South Carolina
County York
Founded 1852
Incorporated 1892
Government
 • Type Judicial
 • Mayor Doug Echols (D)
Area
 • Total 43.16 sq mi (111.8 km2)
 • Land 43.16 sq mi (111.8 km2)
 • Water 0.16 sq mi (0.4 km2)  0.4%
Elevation 676 ft (206 m)
Population (2014)
 • Total 69,967
 • Density 1,532.8/sq mi (591.8/km2)
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP codes 29730-29733
Area code(s) 803
FIPS code 45-61405
GNIS feature ID 1250417
Website www.cityofrockhill.com

Rock Hill is the largest city in York County, South Carolina and the fifth-largest city in the state. It is also the fourth-largest city of the Charlotte metropolitan area, behind Charlotte, Concord, and Gastonia (all located in North Carolina, unlike Rock Hill). The population was 66,154 as of the 2010 Census.

Rock Hill is located approximately 25 miles (40 km) south of Charlotte and approximately 70 miles (110 km) north of Columbia.

Succeeding cultures of indigenous peoples lived in the Piedmont for thousands of years. The historic Catawba Indian Nation, a traditionally Siouan-speaking tribe, was here at the time of European encounter. Currently the only tribe in South Carolina that is federally recognized, its members live near Rock Hill.

Although some European settlers had already arrived in the Rock Hill area in the 1830s and 1840s, Rock Hill did not become an actual town until the Charlotte and South Carolina Railroad Company made the decision to send a rail line through the area. Originally, the railroad had hoped to build a station in the nearby village of Ebenezerville which was squarely between Charlotte, North Carolina and Columbia, South Carolina. When approached, however, the locals in Ebenezerville refused to have the railroad run through their village since they considered it dirty and noisy. Instead, engineers and surveyors decided to run the line two miles away by a local landmark. According to some accounts, the engineers marked the spot on the map and named it "rocky hill."

Some of Rock Hill's early founding families—the White family, the Black family, and the Moores—believed that having a rail depot so close to them would be advantageous, so they decided to give the Columbia and Charlotte Railroad the right of way through their properties. As the three largest landowners in the area, this settled the matter. George Pendleton White contracted with the railroad to build a section of the line. Construction began in 1848. The first passenger train arrived on March 23, 1852. A few weeks later, on April 17, 1852, the first Rock Hill Post Office opened.


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