James Library
James Library
Our Beginnings
Recognizing the need to preserve historical source materials and make them accessible to the public, the Rockingham Community College Foundation, Inc. approved the sponsorship of the Rockingham County Historical Collections in November of 1979.
Our Purpose
To collect, preserve, exhibit and make available for public use published materials, rare books, manuscripts, documents and museum artifacts.
What do we have?
How do we contribute to the overall mission of Rockingham Community College?
In addition to providing academic support for college and high school courses in history, southern culture, and humanities, we also contribute to the mission of the college by enriching the lives of Rockingham County residents through preserving and making publicly available our materials.
Notes for Researchers
There are no public death and birth records for North Carolina counties prior to 1913. For Rockingham County records of this nature , please see the County Register of Deeds Office (phone 336-342-8820) at the courthouse in Wentworth. Land and marriage records are also maintained at the Deeds Office. Some death records may also be found in Death Notices from Reidsville, NC Newspapers, 1876-1907.
Land records are available through e-Vault.
Estate and court records can be found in the County Clerk of Superior Court Office at the courthouse.
Prior to 1850, only the heads of households were named in census records. From 1850 on, all residents of the household are listed. The 1890 census for Rockingham County, along with most of the United States, was destroyed by fire.
The Madison-Mayodan Public Library (611 Burton St., Madison, NC 27025; Phone 336-548-6553) maintains an excellent collection of genealogical materials from Rockingham and many other North Carolina and Virginia counties.
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