Dred Wimberly

Dred Wimberly (March 18, 1848 - June 16, 1937) was a state legislator in North Carolina. He served in the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1879 and 1887 and in the North Carolina Senate in 1889. He represented Edgecombe County.

Early life Dred Wimberly was born enslaved at James S. Battle's Walnut Plantation near Tarboro, North Carolina on March 18, 1848. He was one of 12 children of Allen Wimberly and Della Battle, both enslaved. Following emancipation in 1865, Kemp P. Battle, then the owner of the Walnut Planation, told his former slaves that they could either leave or stay and be hired as wage workers. Wimberly chose to remain and was given charge of the planation's supplies. He purchased goods on Battle's behalf and ferried goods between Battle's various farms and his home in Raleigh. He attended the 1900 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia and voted to nominate William McKinley for the presidency. Afterwards, he moved to Washington D. C., and was buried at Unity Cemetery in the city. In 1966, a North Carolina Highway Historical Marker was erected outside his former Rocky Mount home to commemorate him. He was inducted into the Twin County Hall of Fame in 2005.