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CHistory
History · Rocky Point

Rocky Point’s post office opened in 1860

More historic than 25% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Rocky Point was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: maps from 1947 on.

1860first post office
0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Rocky Point began

When was Rocky Point founded?

1860

The Rocky Point post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,476166 years

How historic is Rocky Point?

C

More historic than 25% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Rocky Point post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Rocky Point’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rocky Point is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rocky Point’s overall grade.
Founding era1860, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19408.7% of homes (±9.3) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%C+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical NC town 12.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 25%
NewerOlder

North Carolina towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical North Carolina town has 12.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Rocky Point’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (19% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Rocky Point’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Rocky Point are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rocky Point’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rocky Point’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Rocky Point, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Rocky Point yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Rocky Point is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Pender County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,476 at the 2020 census. Rocky Point is within the Wilmington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1860. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,602 to 1,476 (-8%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Rocky Point, 1748 to 1947

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1748Born hereJohn Baptista Ashe is born here
  3. 19th century
  4. 1810Born hereJohn Baptista Ashe is born here
  5. 1814Born hereWilliam Shepperd Ashe is born here
  6. 1860Post officeThe Rocky Point post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1947On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Rocky Point, decade by decade

Today1 recent
NCMapwithdotonRockyPoint2025NCMapwithdotonRockyPoint
On the map

Rocky Point on the map, 1947 to 1997

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Rocky Point. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Rocky Point on the 1947 USGS mapRocky Point on the 1970 USGS mapRocky Point on the 1997 USGS map1947Rocky Point sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Rocky Point.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Rocky Point

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
John Baptista AsheAmerican politician · b. 1748
William Shepperd AsheAmerican politician · b. 1814
J
John Baptista AsheAmerican politician · b. 1810
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Rocky Point’s post office has been open since 1860.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Interstate Mobile Home Park
1cemetery inside Rocky Point
Hocutt

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Rocky Point’s history

What year was Rocky Point founded?

The Rocky Point post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Rocky Point rank for history?

Rocky Point is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Rocky Point?

9% of Rocky Point’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.3 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1983.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.