BlockBefore

Rock Hill, South Carolina

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1941 and the latest in 1986. It stands in the Rock Hill census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29730. The Survey maps it on the Rock Hill West quadrangle. 74,372 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 676 feet above sea level.

Rock Hill within York County

On record in Rock Hill

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 12 of 29 shown

Every listing in York County

Surveyed buildings and structures 3 records

Population over time

2 figures

Rock Hill grew from 66,154 to 74,372 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
201066,154
202074,372+8,218 (+12%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 16 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Photographs

2 photographs,

Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.

Winthrop College, Tillman Building, Winthrop College Campus, Rock Hill, York County, SC
Winthrop College, Tillman Building, Winthrop College Campus, Rock Hill, York County, SC
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Winthrop College, Withers Building, Oakland Avenue, Rock Hill, York County, SC
Winthrop College, Withers Building, Oakland Avenue, Rock Hill, York County, SC
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress

Fires near this place

87 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 87 fires within 5 miles of Rock Hill between 1992 and 2020, burning about 212 acres in total. None started naturally. 9 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined42
Debris and open burning16
Misuse of fire by a minor14
Arson/incendiarism9
Recreation and ceremony3
Equipment and vehicle use2
Fireworks1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
23 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
20 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
15 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
15 September 2010Recreation and ceremony4.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
15 September 2005Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
12 September 2005Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
8 August 1995Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
15 August 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.3 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in York County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Rock Hill: 2 producers, 1 unknown. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Rock Hill QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenUnknownIgneous
Rock Hill QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
York MillStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working recorded in York County

Storms near this place

60 of 92 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rock Hill in 92 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 40 thunderstorm wind, 31 hail, 10 lightning, 5 flash flood. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 1996LightningRock Hill1 hurtno account filed
May 2014HailRock Hill$3,000,000National Severe Storms Lab relayed multiple public reports of up to golf ball size hail on the north side of Rock Hill.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindRock Hill$50,000Numerous trees, power lines, and power poles were blown down. One tree fell on a house, causing extensive damage.
May 2003Thunderstorm WindRock Hill$50,000Numerous trees and power lines were blown down, many of which fell on homes and vehicles.
April 2001Thunderstorm WindRock Hill$50,000A large sign was blown down at Cherry Park. A new roof under construction at a church was blown off. Trees were downed, with at least one falling on a vehicle.
May 2003LightningRock Hill$20,000Lightning ignited a couple of house fires.
February 2012LightningRock Hill$20,000no account filed
July 2002LightningRock Hill$17,000Lightning caused fires at two homes and at a business.
August 2003LightningRock Hill$15,000Lightning ignited a fire at a church.
August 2003LightningRock Hill$15,000Lightning ignited a fire at a business.
August 1994Thunderstorm WindRock Hill$10,000Trees and power lines were down in Rock Hill.
September 2004Tornado (F1)Rock Hill$5,000This tornado touched down on the norheast side of Tega Cay and tracked almost due north into North Carolina. Damage was mainly limited to trees, but a few of these fell on homes and automobiles.
November 2003Thunderstorm WindRock Hill$5,000Numerous trees were blown down or uprooted. Three vehicles were damaged by fallen trees.
June 2002LightningRock Hill$5,000Lightning struck a house and caused a small fire.
June 1997LightningRock Hill$5,000no account filed
February 2006Thunderstorm WindRock Hill$2,500Part of the tin roof of a greenhouse was torn off, and a concession stand blown about 200 feet along highway 5 near the Applied Technology Center. Several pine trees were also blown down. Emergency manager inspected the damage and determined straight line winds were the likely culprit.
April 2006LightningRock Hill$1,000Lightning ignited a small fire in the attic of a vacant house. Damage was minimal.
November 2002Thunderstorm WindRock Hill$1,000Some trees and power lines were blown down.
August 2002Thunderstorm WindRock Hill$1,000Trees and powerlines were blown down along Gold Mone Rd and Cherry Rd.
September 2001Thunderstorm WindRock Hill$1,000Brief damaging winds occurred during a fast-moving, low-topped line of thunderstorms.
August 2001Thunderstorm WindRock Hill$1,000Fallen limbs from thunderstorm winds fell on power lines, causing power outages. A split tree blocked a street for some time. Rainfall of 1.5 inches was also recorded.
January 1998Thunderstorm WindRock Hill$300no account filed
May 2025HailRock Hill-Public reported half dollar size hail in the Rock Hill area.
May 2022HailRock Hill-Ham radio operator reported quarter size hail in the Rock Hill area.
May 2022HailRock Hill-Public reported quarter size hail.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindRock Hill-County comms reported several trees and a few power lines blown down across Rock Hill.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindRock Hill-Public reported (via Social Media) multiple trees blown down across roads in the Rock Hill area.
March 2016HailRock Hill-County comms reported 3/4 inch hail just south of Rock Hill.
May 2014Thunderstorm WindRock Hill-County comms reported several power lines blown down in the Rock Hill area.
May 2014HailRock Hill-Spotter reported golf ball size hail with a third York County severe thunderstorm. This one tracked across the southern part of the county.
July 2013Thunderstorm WindRock Hill-A few trees were blown down between Rock Hill and Lake Wylie, with some trees on power lines.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindRock Hill-Multiple trees and power lines were blown down in and around Rock Hill.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindRock Hill-Multiple trees were blown down between Fort Mill and Rock Hill.
April 2011HailRock Hill-Golf ball size hail was reported on Walnut St in Rock Hill.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindRock Hill-Three trees were blown down in the Rock Hill area.
March 2008HailRock Hill-Reported near the intersection of highway 5 and I-77.
June 2008HailRock Hill-Hail reported at the Catawba Indian Reservation.
March 2008Thunderstorm WindRock Hill-Several trees blown down from Rock Hill to Fort Mill, with a tree on a house on Lee St in Rock Hill.
April 2007HailRock Hill-Hail reportedly ranged from the size of pecans to golfballs.
June 2006Heavy RainRock Hill-A detention pond at a construction site in the southwest part of the city overflowed when over 3 inches of rain fell in several hours. This resulted in significant flooding of several yards, with water a couple of feet deep, on Ogden Rd in the southwest part of the city.
May 2006HailRock Hill-Large hail continued in the city of Rock Hill and points south, with hail growing to tennis ball size near downtown.
May 2006HailRock Hill-Numerous reports of hail up to golfball size in and around Rock Hill.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindRock Hill-Trees and power lines blown down and several hundred power outages in the Rock Hill area. Most of the damage was in the southern part of the city, but a tree fell on a home on Westover Circle west of town. Numerous large tree limbs were also downed near the intersection of Marshall Rd and Dunlap-Roddey Rd.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindRock Hill-Numerous trees down across the county, especially along highway 5 northwest of Rock Hill and in the Lake Wylie area.
February 2003Tornado (F0)Rock Hill-A weak tornado touched down briefly in a Rock Hill suburb. During its 1800 foot track, the tornado snapped off several pine trees and blew a ridge vent off of a home. Debris carried by the tornado broke windows at another home and broke out a car windshield.
May 2003Flash FloodRock Hill-After an extended period of heavy rain, overnight thunderstorms produced very heavy rainfall in a short period of time, which resulted in rapid rises and flooding along some creeks and streams. Several major streets flooded, some due to poor drainage, and others because of overflowing creeks. The parking lot was flooded at an apartment complex.
June 2003Flash FloodRock Hill-Several small creeks flooded. Part of highway 5 was washed out.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindRock Hill-Several trees were blown down along Saluda Rd, Straight Rd, and McConnells Rd.
May 2001HailRock Hill-Numerous reports of dime-sized hail with a second severe thunderstorm that affected the Rock Hill area.
May 2001Thunderstorm WindRock Hill-Storm spotter reported severe caliber winds in northern York County.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindRock Hill-Numerous trees and power lines down near Interstate 77.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindRock Hill-Trained spotter report of 55 to 60 mph winds.
August 2001Thunderstorm WindRock Hill-Large tree limbs blown across power lines in Rock Hill, resulting in power outages.
July 2001LightningRock Hill-Lightning resulted in numerous power outages.
August 2000Thunderstorm WindRock Hill-Trees were blown down across much of the western half of York county. Trees limbs up to 3.5 inches in diameter were snapped off in Rock Hill.
August 2000Thunderstorm WindRock Hill-One tree and several large limbs were blown down.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindRock Hill-A line of severe thunderstorms moved out of the Georgia mountains into the upstate, causing wind gusts in the 50 to 60 knots range at many locations. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down causing extended power outages for thousands of customers. West of Long Creek a mobile home was destroyed. In Simpsonville a garage was shifted off its foundation. The towns of Central, Pendleton, Marietta, and Williamston were especially hard hit with extensive damage reported. In York County thunderstorm winds and lightning caused considerable damage to utilities and affected traffic.
August 1994HailRock Hill-One-inch hail at the York County Airport
April 2012HailRock Hill-no account filed
June 2011HailRock Hill-no account filed

Every storm recorded in York County

Newspapers printed here

4 digitised pages

1 paper published in this town, digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read: 1 issue, 4 pages. Every page is searchable, so a name or a street can be looked for directly in what the town printed about itself at the time.

NewspaperPublished
The Rock Hill Messenger1896 to 1921

What the paper printed

7,378 words

Front pages of the local paper, read from the Library of Congress scans: 1 issue from 1900, 7,378 words in total. Each is reproduced on its own page, exactly as the recogniser returned it.

These pages read less well than anything else here, and the number is worth stating: about three words in four come through cleanly, against nine in ten for the building records. An 1896 broadsheet sets eight-point type in seven columns on microfilm, which is the hardest thing in this archive to read by machine. We tested our own recognisers against the Library's and they were not better, so the Library's text is what appears, with the wholly unreadable columns removed. Read it as a guide to what the paper covered, and follow the link to the scan before quoting anything.

IssuePaper Length
1900-01-26The Rock Hill Messenger7,378 words

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Stoneybrook Estates1.2 miles16
Mexico1.4 miles16
Boyd Hill1.4 miles16
Sunset Acres1.6 miles16
Flint Hill1.7 miles16
Sunrise Acres1.7 miles15
Beaty Estates1.7 miles16
Laney Terrace1.9 miles16

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Rock HillAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q960774The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1250417. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.