Princeville is a historic town in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, United States. Established by freed slaves after the Civil War and incorporated in 1885, it is the first independently governed African American community chartered in the United States. Princeville is part of the Rocky Mount, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 1,254 residents. The town is on the opposite bank of the Tar River from Tarboro. The city of Rocky Mount is 16 miles (26 km) to the west.