Tarboro, North Carolina

Tarboro, North Carolina
Main Street, downtown
Main Street, downtown
Official seal of Tarboro, North Carolina
Nickname: 
T-Town
Location in Edgecombe County and the state of North Carolina.
Location in Edgecombe County and the state of North Carolina.
Coordinates: 35°54′18″N 77°33′23″W / 35.90500°N 77.55639°W / 35.90500; -77.55639
Country United States
State North Carolina
CountyEdgecombe
Founded1760
Incorporated1772[1]
Named forTar River[1]
Government
 • TypeCouncil–Manager
 • MayorTate Mayo
Area
 • Total11.31 sq mi (29.29 km2)
 • Land11.27 sq mi (29.19 km2)
 • Water0.04 sq mi (0.10 km2)
Elevation62 ft (19 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total10,721
 • Density951.12/sq mi (367.22/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP code
27886
Area code252
FIPS code37-66700[4]
GNIS feature ID2406714[3]
Websitewww.tarboro-nc.com

Tarboro is a town located in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Rocky Mount Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 10,721.[5] It is the county seat of Edgecombe County.[6] The town is on the opposite bank of the Tar River from Princeville. It is also part of the Rocky Mount-Wilson-Roanoke Rapids CSA.[7] Tarboro is located near the western edge of North Carolina's coastal plain. It has many historical churches, some dating from as early as 1742.[8]

Tarboro was chartered by British colonists in 1760. Located in a bend of the Tar River, it was an important river port, the head of navigation on the Tar River just east of the fall line of the Piedmont. As early as the 1730s, a small community developed around this natural asset. With different businesses, a church, a jail, two warehouses, a courthouse, a few well built private houses, together with a score of "plain and cheap" houses, made a bustling village by the late 1700s.

  1. ^ a b "North Carolina Gazetteer". Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  2. ^ "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  3. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Tarboro, North Carolina
  4. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  5. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  6. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  7. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2018 - United States -- Combined Statistical Area; and for Puerto Rico". American FactFinder. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  8. ^ WRAL (September 30, 2020). "NC's secret garden: Century-old trees, historic graves in gothic revival churchyard". WRAL.com. Retrieved March 9, 2023.