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History · Rockhill

Rockhill dates to 1874, and 47% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1939 on and the census since 1890.

1874founded
0on the National Register
47%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Hicksco2 at English Wikipedia · Public domain
Quick answers

How Rockhill began

When was Rockhill founded?

1874

Rockhill dates its founding to 1874 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 657 in 18902020 census: 379152 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1888.The full story ↓

What stands out about Rockhill’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 Rockhill are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Rockhill’s homes were built before 1948.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rockhill’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Rockhill came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rockhill.

Read it all →

The narrow-gauge East Broad Top Railroad was constructed through the community in 1873. Rockhill was selected as the location of the railroad's maintenance facility. The parent company Rockhill Iron and Coal located their dual-stack coke-fired iron furnace here. Rockhill as it exists today was created by the coal company and the railroad as a support community for their infrastructure.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Rockhill, 1874 to 1939

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874
    FoundingRockhill is established
  3. 1888Post officeThe Rockhill Furnace post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1939On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Rockhill on the map, 1939 to 1973

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

Rockhill on the 1939 USGS mapRockhill on the 1940 USGS mapRockhill on the 1966 USGS mapRockhill on the 1973 USGS map1939Orbisonia 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 Rockhill.

People over time

Rockhill, census by census

01002003004005006007001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 657

Between 371 and 657 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Rockhill’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Rockhill

Nobody well known was born in Rockhill itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
George M. ChilcottAmerican politician · b. 1828
James Monroe MillerAmerican politician (Republican) · b. 1852
I
Ira J. DeenAmerican artist · b. 1874
Robert Milton SpeerAmerican politician · b. 1838
Henry C. WarfelUnion Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1844
R.W. DromgoldBusinessperson and Los Angeles, California poli… · b. 1856

Questions about Rockhill’s history

What year was Rockhill founded?

In 1874, according to Wikidata. Rockhill’s post office opened in 1888, and the census of 1890 counted 657 people here.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.