A Walk on the Tar River Trail, and a Taste of Rocky Mount

 We had planned a week's stay here in Enfield, near Rocky Mount, but because a heavy snow and loss of campground power made us refugees from Fredericksburg, Virginia, we got to this campground early, and we have 13 days here.  After over a week, we've found an opportunity to explore nearby Rocky Mount, which boasts two very interesting tourist attractions:  the Tar River Trail and Rocky Mount Mills.  We challenged them both this afternoon!

As it happens, the two are adjacent.  We decided to park in the central parking lot of Rocky Mount Mills, a redevelopment marvel in downtown Rocky Mount:

Rocky Mount Mills, located on the Tar River in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, was originally the second cotton mill constructed in the State of North Carolina, dating back to 1816.  It was also the first cotton mill in the United States to employ slaves in its operations.  In the 1850s, most of the coarse yarns produced at the mill were sold in small bundles for local weaving.  The mill's surplus yarns were sold for coarse filling for the Philadelphia market.  During the last months of the Civil War, the Confederacy drew its entire supply of textile goods from North Carolina mills. Northern troops recognized the significance of the textile industry's contribution to the war effort. In raids led by General William T. Sherman, Union troops laid waste to most of Eastern North Carolina's manufacturing base by burning the Rocky Mount Mill on the Tar River, the Great Falls Mill in Rockingham, NC, and five of the six mills in the Fayetteville vicinity.  As the southern cotton industry expanded after the Civil War, the cotton mill experienced rapid growth. The company also supported a residential village for employees, which was eventually incorporated into the City of Rocky Mount in the 1920s. The mill was a major supplier of cotton yarn to the United States Army during World War II. 

The mills and surrounding mill village are included in the Rocky Mount Mills Village Historic District.  The buildings primarily date between about 1835 and 1948, and include notable examples of Greek Revival and Bungalow/American Craftsman style residential architecture. The district includes the Rocky Mount Mills buildings, the mill village community house (1918) and a variety of one- and two-story frame mill worker houses.

Capitol Broadcasting Company bought the 150-acre mills in 2007 and has redeveloped it into a mixed-use campus of breweries, restaurants, lofts, office, and event space.  Its main attraction is as an incubator for craft breweries, as well as being home to a number of restaurants. 

The mill itself has been turned into lofts, office, and event space. The approximately 100 historical homes in the mills village have been updated and are available to rent.  In 2019, the River and Twine hotel opened on the campus, a collection of 20 boutique tiny house cottages. The next phase of development is Goat Island on the Tar River, which will offer public access to hiking trails, sandy beaches, and paddling sports.

Rocky Mount Mills used the power of the Tar River falls at Rocky Mount by building a dam that created a retention pond and provided water power.  The dam and retention pond still exist behind the original mill buildings:

We crossed the retention pond from Rocky Mount Mills and enjoyed views of the dam, with Rocky Mount Mills in the background:

Below the dam, water spills into the original river bed to continue its way downstream.  The Tar River is approximately 215 miles long and flows generally southeast to an estuary of Pamlico Sound on the Atlantic Ocean.

Below the dam, we spotted this great blue heron fishing for dinner.  As we watched, we were surprised to see FIVE MORE herons, for a total of six great blue heron fishing the same rocky section of the river.  Must have been good fishing, we think!

Cypress are everywhere here, especially along the river, where their famous knees grace every view of the river:

The Tar River is muddy and not particularly photogenic, but its earthly browns mingle with the browns of soil and trees in winter, making for a sepia landscape worth of any 19th Century photographer:

Continuing past the dam, we followed the Tar River Trail along the north bank of the Tar River, crossing occasional tributaries as they spilled runoff into the river:

We worked our way east and reached the eastern end of Goat Island, where we spotted this structure, which might have been a fishing dock or hunting blind:

The Tar River was placid, even on a windy day, and we could imagine ourselves carelessly paddling up and down it:

On the north bank of the river, opposite Rocky Mount Mills, perches an observatory and platform, from which we could see the mills and the town water tower:

After a walk of 1 or 1.5 hours, we returned to Rocky Mount Mills and strolled over to Goat Island Bottle Shop, where we tasted some beer while waiting for our target brewery tasting room to open.  We picked two beers to taste and retired to the outdoor patio to avoid infectious air.  

Here, David enjoys a Rum Barrel pumpkin ale --

-- and Kathy hoists a Stone stout:

Four o'clock arrived, and we walked over to Koi Pond Brewing Company, which is located in this historic house now affectionately named, "The Pond":

Our server was a genial guy who offered us everything on tap, plus some beers in cans in the fridge.  We tried a flight of their beers on tap, including what became our favorite -- the 10 Coin Day 10% Belgian Golden Ale, as well as a stout, a wit beer and a Marzen ale:

All were good, and we stocked up with many of them, plus some others, and headed home (with a stop for groceries and an Amazon pick-up) for a dinner of beer and Chinese dumplings.  Yum!