Rockwell North Carolina Map
Explore Rockwell, North Carolina, with this interactive street and satellite map.
This page also offers TOPO MAPS — the official USGS topographic sheets — plus USGS aerial imagery, a labelled USNG grid overlay, a distance and bearing tool, and a GPS grid-reference readout. See How to Use This Map below.
Interactive Map of Rockwell, North Carolina
How to Use This Rockwell, North Carolina Map
This interactive map shows the street layout and satellite imagery for Rockwell, North Carolina. Use the Map and Satellite buttons above to switch between street map and aerial imagery views. Use the + and − buttons to zoom in or out, or scroll your mouse wheel while holding the Control key to zoom. On a touchscreen, use a two-finger pinch gesture. Drag the map to pan to any area of North Carolina or beyond.
Click ⛶ Fullscreen to expand the map to fill your screen. To return to the normal page view, press the Escape key, click the ✕ Exit Fullscreen button that appears above the map, or on a mobile device tap the back button (Android) or the close icon (iOS).
TOPO MAPS — NEW. Click the green 🔍 Search Maps button below the map to open a second map with a Base map row offering three choices. OSM is the standard OpenStreetMap street map. Topo shows the official USGS topographic maps from The National Map — contours, hydrography, land cover and shaded relief, the same mapping used for hiking, hunting and back-country navigation in the Adirondacks, the Catskills and the Finger Lakes. Imagery shows USGS aerial photography, mostly 1-metre NAIP. The search box finds any US town, county or landmark by name, so you are not limited to Rockwell.
Reading the map like a paper quad. Click Grid to overlay the U.S. National Grid (USNG), labelled along the edges exactly as a printed topographic sheet is — at normal zoom the squares are one kilometre across, so you can read a six-figure grid reference by eye and judge distance directly off the map. Click Measure, then tap two points, to get the distance between them together with the grid bearing in degrees and mils, the true bearing, and the magnetic bearing to set on a compass.
Click 📍 My position to take a single GPS reading from your device. It marks where you are and reports your position as a USNG grid reference as well as plain latitude and longitude — USNG being the format FEMA and US search and rescue teams work from — with a Copy position button so you can paste it straight into a text message. It takes one reading and stops, rather than tracking continuously, to conserve your battery. Note that map tiles need cell coverage, but a GPS reading does not — your coordinates stay correct even where the map itself cannot load.
| City | Rockwell |
| State | North Carolina (NC) |
| County | Rowan County |
| Country | United States of America |
| Timezone | Eastern Time (America/New_York) |
| Latitude | 35.551251 |
| Longitude | -80.406448 |
| Population | 2,302 |
| Density | 523.1 /km² |
| Incorporated | Yes |
| ZIP Code | 28138 |
| Area Code | 704, 980 |
| County Seat | Salisbury |
| School District | Rowan-Salisbury Schools |
About Rockwell, North Carolina
Rockwell is a locality in Rowan County, North Carolina, United States. It has a population of approximately 2,302. The population density is 523.1 people per km². Rockwell is located at 35.5513°N, 80.4064°W. It observes the Eastern Time (America/New_York) timezone. Rockwell is an incorporated locality. ZIP code: 28138.Rockwell occupies a stretch of the North Carolina piedmont where the land rises and falls in long, rhythmic swells of clay and pasture. It lies 9.1 miles south-southeast of Salisbury, NC (from Salisbury, NC: bearing 155°T), and is situated 9.9 miles east of China Grove. Second Creek cuts a quiet, persistent path through the local woods just a mile from the center, its water often dark with the silt of the red earth it drains. Beyond the immediate canopy of oaks and pines, the distant outline of the Appalachian Mountains occasionally haunts the western horizon on clear, cold mornings when the air turns brittle. Within the borders of the Town of Rockwell Open Space, the light at dusk settles in thin, amber layers across the tall grasses, turning the fields into a quiet expanse of bronze before the evening shadows take hold.
Rockwell grew from the sturdy ambition of settlers who found the soil capable of sustaining a slow, deliberate prosperity. Agriculture long defined the local rhythm, though the influence of regional textile mills and the mechanical hum of nearby industry eventually reshaped how the residents measured their days. While Happys Lake lies five miles away, reflecting the sky in a mirror of still, deep blue, the character of the place remains anchored to the land itself rather than the water. The local pace is marked by a habitual courtesy, a sense of belonging that persists even as the world beyond the county line accelerates. Life here maintains a steady, unadorned endurance, much like the weathered brick and timber that frame the older storefronts along the main thoroughfare.
Nearby Outdoor Places
- Town of Rockwell Open Space (Local Recreation) — 0.5 mi, 197° S
- Town of Rockwell - Rockwell Park (Local Recreation) — 0.9 mi, 009° N
- Faith Park (Local Park) — 3.4 mi, 309° NW
- Historic Gold Hill and Mines Foundation Preserve (Conservation Area) — 4.4 mi, 130° SE
- Granite Lake Park (Local Park) — 4.9 mi, 334° NW
- Three Rivers Land Trust Preserve - Dunns Mountain (Conservation Area) — 5.0 mi, 349° N
- Alcoa Game Land (State Conservation Area) — 5.1 mi, 055° NE
- Foltz Steel Bridge (Monument) — 6.7 mi, 027° NE
- T.M Stanback Barnyard (Zoo / Wildlife Park) — 6.7 mi, 029° NE
- Soldier Monument (Monument) — 8.4 mi, 333° NW
- Maine Monument (Monument) — 8.4 mi, 333° NW
- Gravity Hill - Folklore Destination (Attraction) — 9.3 mi, 076° E
- Sound Money Museum (Museum) — 9.8 mi, 278° W
- Scenic Lookout (Viewpoint) — 12.8 mi, 105° E
- Millbridge Speedway (Stadium) — 13.3 mi, 302° NW
- Uwharrie National Forest (National Forest) — 13.5 mi, 101° E · 52k acres
- The Icon (Public Artwork) — 14.3 mi, 225° SW
- Second Creek Game Land (State Conservation Area) — 14.4 mi, 306° NW
- Stanly County Museum (Museum) — 18.1 mi, 140° SE
- Lazy 5 Ranch (Zoo / Wildlife Park) — 18.3 mi, 286° W
- Music Hall (Theatre) — 19.1 mi, 083° E
- Morrow Mountain State Park (State Park) — 19.2 mi, 120° SE
- Textile Heritage Center (Museum) — 20.1 mi, 335° NW
- Carolina Theatre (Theatre) — 20.6 mi, 024° NE
- Lexington Cinema 8 (Cinema) — 20.6 mi, 026° NE
- Davidson County Historical Museum (Museum) — 20.7 mi, 024° NE
- Kids Jungle Playground (Theme Park) — 21.8 mi, 235° SW
- Sea Life Aquarium (Aquarium) — 21.9 mi, 235° SW
- Birkhead Mountains Wilderness (Wilderness Area) — 25.5 mi, 084° E · 5,216 acres
- Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge (National Wildlife Refuge) — 35.5 mi, 148° SE · 17k acres
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About This Rockwell Map Page
This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Rockwell, North Carolina. Coordinates: 35.551251, -80.406448. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service. Real-time local and world news feeds keep the page current.
Detailed location data for Rockwell includes the ZIP code (28138), telephone area code (704, 980), county seat of Rowan County (Salisbury), and school district assignment (Rowan-Salisbury Schools).
Search Maps opens a second, independent map. It searches OpenStreetMap for any US town, county or landmark by name; offers USGS topographic maps and USGS aerial imagery as base layers; overlays a labelled U.S. National Grid (USNG) so the map can be read like a printed topographic quad; measures distance and grid, true and magnetic bearings between any two points; and takes a single GPS fix reporting your position as a USNG grid reference and as latitude and longitude. Map tiles require cell coverage, but a GPS position does not, so the coordinates remain correct even where the map cannot load.
Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.
| Page generated | September 2026 |
| Location data | SimpleMaps US Cities Database; coordinates matched to USGS GNIS definitive data |
| Map layers | Google Maps; © OpenStreetMap contributors; USGS The National Map topographic and aerial imagery (public domain); magnetic declination from NOAA NCEI (World Magnetic Model) |
| Wikipedia validation | Article content matched to USGS GNIS coordinates via Wikipedia geosearch API. |
