In 1967 an abandoned prison compound located near the Village of Union in Hertford County was purchased. Under the leadership of the State Rep. Roberts H. Jernigan, Jr., and with the support of Sen. J. J. “Monk” Harrington and Rep. Emmett Burden, a fund to establish a two-year, vocational and technical training institution was provided by the North Carolina General Assembly. Originally called Roanoke-Chowan Technical Institute, the institution’s name changed to Roanoke-Chowan Technical College in 1981 and to Roanoke-Chowan Community College (R-CCC) in 1987.
