Roanoke Rapids is located on the northern tip of one of the state's largest and most historic counties, Halifax. Here, the "Halifax Resolves", or the first Declaration of Independence, was signed on April 12, 1776. Roanoke Rapids is in the northeastern section of the state, eight miles south of the North Carolina-Virginia boundary and adjacent to Interstate 95. U.S. 158 and N.C. 48 pass through the city.

The City of Roanoke Rapids was incorporated in 1897. It owes its beginning to two men, Thomas Emry and John Armstrong Chaloner, who built a power generation station and the first cotton mill on the banks of the Roanoke River in the area now owned by International Paper. Homes for the workers, known as "Old Town", were built on Hamilton, Washington, and Jefferson Streets between First and Fourth Streets. Soon homes were built on Jackson, Madison, and Monroe Streets between First and Fourth Streets and this became "New Town". In 1897, these two villages were incorporated and renamed Roanoke Rapids.

In 1900, Sam Patterson and Gus Millheiser built the present Rosemary plant of West Point Stevens. The town that grew around this plant was named for Patterson's wife Rose and Millheiser's wife Mary. In 1931, Roanoke Rapids and Rosemary merged to form one city, Roanoke Rapids.

Since its beginning as a textile town, Roanoke Rapids has grown in size and diversified its economic base. Many types of industry have located in the area. It has become the major retail and service center for a thirty-mile radius, and with I-95 located here and Lake Gaston a few miles away, a major tourist industry has developed.

The climate is relatively mild with daytime temperatures averaging 45 degrees in winter, 66 degrees in the spring, 85 degrees in the summer and 68 degrees in the fall. Annual rainfall is 43.43 inches with snowfall 2-4 inches each year.