* Rock Hill dates its history to April 17,1852, the day the Rock Hill Post Office opened, even though the town was not officially incorporated until 1870. Thus, Rock Hill celebrated its centennial in 1952 and its sesquicentennial in 2002.

* City limits signs proclaim that Rock Hill is a city with "no room for racism."

* The symbols of the city are the four "Civitas" statues on Dave Lyle Boulevard. Each of them hold discs that symbolize the four different industries in the city. The four Civitas statues located at the GateWay Plaza on Dave Lyle Boulevard were put up in April 1991. The twenty foot tall bronze statues were created by NY artist Audrey Flack. A fifth Civitas statue was placed in the City Hall Rotunda a year later.

* Rock Hill was home to the late Vernon Grant, a commercial artist best known as the creator of Snap, Crackle and Pop, the longtime cartoon mascots of Rice Krispies cereal. Grant also was known for his many depictions of Santa Claus. He created Glen the Frog, the mascot of Rock Hill's annual spring festival, Come See Me.

* Rock Hill's Saint Anne School was the first integrated school in South Carolina. At the time of its desegreation, the school made national news. Soon the school will be receiving a plaque in front of their new location.

* Rock Hill is also home to the Friendship Nine. This was an event that changed the Civil Rights movement. They were the first group to practice the "jail-no-bail" system. This meant that they would serve time in prison for protesting. This was reported in the New York Times and News Week. Due to the national attention, protestors around the country took up this system.

* Rock Hill was the setting for two significant events in the American civil rights movement. In February 1961, nine African-American men went to jail at the York County prison farm after staging a sit-in at a segregated McCrory's lunch counter. The event gained nationwide attention because the men followed an untried strategy called "jail, no bail," which lessened the huge financial burden civil rights groups were facing as the sit-in movement spread across the South.They became known as the Friendship Nine because eight of the nine men were students at Rock Hill's Friendship Junior College.

* Later that year, Rock Hill was the first stop in the Deep South for a group of 13 Freedom Riders who boarded buses in Washington, D.C., and headed South to test the 1960 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court outlawing racial segregation in all interstate public facilities. When civil rights leader John Lewis and another man stepped off the bus, they were beaten by a white mob. In 2002, Lewis - by then a U.S. congressman from Georgia - made a triumphant return to the Rock Hill, where he was given the key to the city.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 49,765 people, 18,750 households, and 12,093 families residing in the city. The population density was 619.2/km² (1,603.8/mi²). There were 20,287 housing units at an average density of 252.4/km² (653.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 58.74% White, 37.33% African American, 0.50% Native American, 1.39% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.02% from other races, and 1.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.48% of the population.

There were 18,750 households out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.6% were married couples living together, 18.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.5% were non-families. 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 14.8% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 18.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 84.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,336, and the median income for a family was $45,697. Males had a median income of $32,156 versus $24,181 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,929. About 9.7% of families and 14.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.2% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.

Economy
Many residents of Rock Hill commute to nearby Charlotte for work. Charlotte has become a major U.S. financial center, and, based on assets, both the nation's second largest and fourth largest financial institutions call the city home (Bank of America and Wachovia, respectively). Bank of America' headquarters, along with other regional banking and financial services companies, are located primarily in the uptown financial district. Thanks in large part to the expansion of the city's banking industry, the Charlotte skyline has mushroomed in the past two decades and boasts the Bank of America Corporate Center, the tallest skyscraper between Philadelphia and Atlanta. The 60-story postmodern gothic tower, designed by renowned architect Cesar Pelli, stands 871 feet tall and was completed in 1992.

The following Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in the Charlotte metropolitan area:

• Bank of America
• Duke Energy
• Family Dollar
• Goodrich Corporation
• Lowe's
• Nucor
• Sonic Automotive
• SPX Corporation
• Wachovia

Other major companies headquartered in the Metro Charlotte include Time Warner Cable (a business unit of Fortune 500 company Time Warner), Continental Tire North America (formerly Continental/General Tire), Muzak, Belk, Harris Teeter, Meineke Car Care Centers, Lance, Inc, Bojangles', Carlisle Companies, LendingTree, Compass Group USA and Food Lion in suburban Salisbury. Also, neighboring Gastonia is home to Choice Beverage, Inc., makers of SunDrop and Cheerwine, and Parkdale Mills world headquarters.

Charlotte is also a major center in the US motorsports industry, with NASCAR having multiple offices in and around Charlotte. Approximately 75% of the industry's employees and drivers are based within two hours of downtown Charlotte. Charlotte is also the future home of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, expected to be completed in 2009. The center city/uptown area of Charlotte has seen remarkable growth over the last decade. Numerous residential units continue to be built uptown, including over 20 skyscapers either under construction, recently completed, or in the planning stage. Many new restaurants, bars and clubs now operate in the uptown area.

Attractions
There are many attractions around Rock Hill. The Blue Ridge Mountains begin along the western edge of the region and the descent (the fall line) to the coastal plain begins along the eastern edge. Amid this varied topography, the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens and several state parks (Morrow Mountain, Crowders Mountain, South Mountains, Duke Power, Landsford Canal, Andrew Jackson) offer recreational possibilities, along with the Uwharrie National Forest just east and northeast of Albemarle, and the Sumter National Forest at the southwest corner of the area. Kings Mountain National Military Park is partially located in York County and in Cherokee County near Blacksburg, South Carolina.

Attractions in Charlotte include the Afro-American Cultural Center, Discovery Place, Spirit Square, the soon to be built NASCAR Hall of Fame, the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, Children's Theatre of Charlotte, The Mint Museums, the Charlotte Museum Of History, Levine Museum of the New South, and the Wing Haven Gardens.

Other places of interest in the Charlotte suburbs include the Schiele Museum (in Gastonia), Carowinds Theme Park (in Mecklenburg County, NC and York County, SC), Lowes Motor Speedway (in Concord), the Carolina Raptor Center (in Huntersville), Latta Plantation (in Huntersville), Historic Brattonsville (in McConnells), the North Carolina Transportation Museum (in Spencer), Fort Dobbs historical site (in Statesville), the Museum Of York County (in Rock Hill), James K. Polk historical site (in Pineville), the Catawba Cultural Center (in York County), the Museum Of The Waxhaws (in Waxhaw), Glencairn Gardens (in Rock Hill), and the Reed Gold Mine (in Locust).

The Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Charlotte is located in Charlotte in the University City community of Charlotte. The performing arts ampitheatre has hosted many popular music concerts. The U.S. National Whitewater Center, The U.S. National Whitewater Center (USNWC) is the world’s premier outdoor recreation and environmental education center. Alongside mountain-biking and running trails, a climbing center, and challenge course, the park’s unique feature is a multiple-channel, customized whitewater river for rafting and canoe/kayak enthusiasts of all abilities.

The USNWC is only 10 minutes from downtown Charlotte and provides over 300 acres of woodlands along the scenic Catawba River. Olympic-caliber athletes, weekend warriors and casual observers share this world-class sports and training center.

Inspired by the successful Penrith Whitewater Stadium built for the 2000 Olympics and the stadium built for the 2004 Athens Games, the USNWC is the world’s only multi-channel recirculating whitewater river. The USOC has designated the USNWC an official Olympic Training Site.

Regional-scale Shopping malls include SouthPark Mall, Northlake Mall, Eastland Mall (all in Charlotte), Carolina Place Mall (Pineville), Rock Hill Galleria (Rock Hill), Westfield Shoppingtown Eastridge (Gastonia), Concord Mills (Concord) and Valley Hills Mall (Hickory). Other important malls in the area include Carolina Mall (Concord), Gaston Mall (Gastonia), Monroe Mall (Monroe), and Signal Hill Mall (Statesville). Concord Mills is unique in that it does not feature the typical anchor stores found at the other mall; it focuses more on attracting outlet store tenants. As of 2006, the mall is the state's largest tourist attraction, visited by over 15 million annually.

Alongside enclosed malls and strip centers are several other shopping districts. Several downtowns can claim an abundance of shopping options, along with restaurants and other entertainment, and a few other specific districts have emerged: Central Avenue, especially in the Plaza-Midwood area; the NoDa area of North Charlotte; and the Arboretum in southeast Charlotte (geographically, south), to offer a handful of examples. Several of these areas are at the center of the area's growing immigrant business communities.

Education
Rock Hill is part of the Rock Hill School District. There are many public and private elementary, middle, and high schools.

Rock Hill is also home to three institutes of higher education:
* Winthrop University was founded in 1886 as the Winthrop Training School in Columbia, South Carolina. It was initially an all-female school for those who desired to become teachers. The institution diversified its class ranks by extending its educational offerings to minorities in 1964 and to men in 1972. It attained university status in 1992. Winthrop has changed considerably since moving to its permanent Rock Hill home in 1895, growing from a single classroom to a comprehensive learning university of distinction. The university is home to over 6,000 students and was recently named one of the Top Ten Regional Public Universities in the South in U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" 2006 edition. The Princeton Review has also rated Winthrop among its “Best Southeastern Colleges” in the review's 2006 edition.

* York Technical College opened in 1964 as a Technical Education Center and began with 60 students enrolled in seven programs all housed in one building. The college has grown in the past four decades from the initial enrollment to over 4,000 credit students in more than 70 credit programs. The college campus has also grown from one building to 14. In 1974, York County Technical Education Center became York Technical College. In addition to offering academic programs, the College provides continuing education for approximately 7,000 area residents and more than 250 businesses.

* Clinton Junior College is an institution of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, founded in 1894 as the Clinton Institute. It initially served as a boarding high school, providing high quality education to hundreds of newly freed blacks. In the early years of the 20th century, the school became known as Clinton Normal and Industrial Institute, and was authorized to grant state teacher certificates. The college presently serves as a liberal arts junior college whose major goal is to prepare students to successfully complete a college major at a four-year institution. In 2000, Clinton Junior College is accreditated by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS).

Transportation
The nearest airport is the Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. It is the 11th busiest airport in the world, as measured by traffic movements. It is served by many international and domestic airlines, and is the largest hub of US Airways. American Airlines, Air Canada, Continental, Delta, Northwest, United, AirTran Airways, JetBlue and Lufthansa are some of the major carriers that serve the airport. Nonstop flights are available to many destinations across the United States, Europe, the Caribbean, Latin America and Canada.