Princeville is a town in Edgecombe County, North Carolina and the oldest town incorporated by African-Americans in the United States. It was established by freed slaves after the Civil War and incorporated in 1885. It is part of the Rocky Mount, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 940, although this census was taken shortly after 1999's Hurricane Floyd, which displaced many town residents. A 2004 special census recount placed the town's population at 2,020 residents in 818 housing units. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,084. The town is on the opposite bank of the Tar River from Tarboro.