Rocky Mount in Nash County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

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Jim Thorpe

1886 - 1953

Photographed By Mike Stroud, 2011

1. Jim Thorpe Marker

Inscription. Indian athlete, star of the 1912 Olympics, made his professional baseball debut with Rocky Mount Railroaders, 1909. Ball park was 300 yds. W.

Erected 1959 by North Carolina Office of Archives & History. (Marker Number E-59.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Native Americans • Sports. In addition, it is included in the North Carolina Division of Archives and History series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1912.

Location. This marker has been replaced by another marker nearby. It was located near 35° 56.856′ N, 77° 47.704′ W. Marker was in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, in Nash County. Marker was at the intersection of North Church Street (Business U.S. 301) and Falls Road, on the left when traveling north on North Church Street. Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: 331 N Church St, Rocky Mount NC 27804, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location. A different marker also named Jim Thorpe (a few steps from this marker); Hardees Food System (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Veterans Memorial At Jack Laughery Park (about 300 feet away); Adolphus Staton (about 300 feet away); Harold Bascom Durham, Jr.

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(about 300 feet away); Operation Dixie (about 500 feet away); Thelonious Monk (approx. ¼ mile away); Miss Anna Easter Brown (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Rocky Mount.

More about this marker. The marker was accidentally knocked down in 2019, but the marker is scheduled to be replaced in 2022.
Update: The marker was replaced on May 18, 2022 but relocated across the intersection to the NE side. It was at GPS coords 35° 56.863′ N, 77° 47.701′ W.

Regarding Jim Thorpe. James (Jim) Francis Thorpe (1888-1953) was an exceptional athlete of the early twentieth century. In 1909 he played professional baseball in North Carolina for the Rocky Mount Railroaders and the Fayetteville Highlanders. He also played professional football and excelled in track and field. After Thorpe won gold medals in the pentathlon and the decathlon at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden’s King Gustav V called him “the greatest athlete in the world.”

Thorpe and his twin brother, Charles, two of eleven children, were born in a cabin on an Indian reservation near Prague, Oklahoma, to Hiram

Jim Thorpe Marker, seen along US 301B at Falls Road image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mike Stroud, July 18, 2011

2. Jim Thorpe Marker, seen along US 301B at Falls Road

and Charlotte Thorpe. Their mother and father were of mixed American Indian descent. Thorpe’s mother was Potawanomi and French; his father was Irish, and the grandson of the Sauk and Fox warrior, chief Black Hawk. At his birth Jim was named Wa-Tho-Huck, an American Indian term that means “Bright Path.”

Thorpe was educated at Indian boarding schools near his home in Oklahoma. In 1904 he enrolled at the U. S. Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. While at Carlisle, Thorpe was coached by Glenn “Pop” Warner, who added him to the track team. Recognizing his talent as an athlete, Warner suggested that Thorpe train for the 1912 Olympic Games.

At those Games, Thorpe took first place in the broad jump, discus throw, 1500 meter run, 200-meter dash, shot put, and high jump. A year later, after word spread that Thorpe had played semipro baseball in North Carolina, he lost his amateur status and he was forced to return his Olympic medals.

In 1982, nearly thirty years after Thorpe’s death, the long awaited efforts of his family and friends to restore his amateur status during the period of the 1912 Olympic Games proved successful. The International Olympic Committee unanimously restored his Olympic medals. A memorial stands in honor of Thorpe in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, the town named for him.(North Carolina Office of Archives & History)

Related marker.

Jim Thorpe Marker, looking south image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mike Stroud, July 18, 2011

3. Jim Thorpe Marker, looking south

Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. New Marker Near This Location also titled "Jim Thorpe".

Also see . . . Encyclopedia of World Biography- Jim Thorpe. ...Following the spring of 1909, when Thorpe starred in track, he left the Carlisle school with two other students to go to North Carolina, where they played baseball at Rocky Mount in the Eastern Carolina Association. Thorpe pitched and played first base... (Submitted on August 8, 2011, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.)

Ball field today at 300 yards west of marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mike Stroud, July 18, 2011

4. Ball field today at 300 yards west of marker

Mill Street and North Grace Street, 102 years later

Jim Thorpe, late in his career image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Wikipedia

5. Jim Thorpe, late in his career

Credits. This page was last revised on June 27, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 8, 2011, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 1,282 times since then and 55 times this year. Last updated on June 9, 2023, by Michael Buckner of Durham, North Carolina. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on August 8, 2011, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.