Roanoke Rapids Historic District

Roanoke Rapids is a textile mill city on the south bank of the Roanoke River in Halifax County, North Carolina, and this district covers about 125 blocks of its residential, commercial and industrial core. Development began in 1894-1895 with the United Industrial Company's knitting mill, and was driven by the Roanoke Mills Company, the Rosemary Manufacturing Company in 1901, Patterson Mills in 1910 and a second Roanoke Mills plant in 1916-1917. The district holds 1,223 primary resources, of which 982 are contributing, including mill villages, downtown and uptown commercial blocks, and residences of merchants and professionals. Its buildings show Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Gothic Revival, Craftsman, Tudor Revival and Art Moderne styles, in frame, brick and log. The district is significant for its industrial history and for its architecture, which remains largely intact, especially in its residential streets and mill villages.