North Carolina State Facts

Catch up on your trivia with these North Carolina history firsts and fun facts.

Middle Atlantic

North Carolina History Firsts - North Carolina State Facts

• 1580 - Coastal North Carolina was the scene of the first attempt to colonize America by English-speaking people. Two colonies were begun in the 1580's under a charter granted by Queen Elizabeth to Sir Walte.
• 1585 - Raleigh. The first colony, established in 1585 under the leadership of Ralph Lane, ended in failure.
• 1587 - First English child born in America was born in Roanoke. Her name was Virginia Dare.
• 1700 - North Carolina has had two permanent capitals, New Bern and Raleigh, and there have been three capitol buildings. Tryon Palace in New Bern was constructed in the period 1767-1770, and the main building was destroyed by fire February 27, 1798. The first capitol in Raleigh was completed in 1794 and was destroyed by fire on June 21, 1831. The present capitol building was completed in 1840.
• 1705 - The oldest town in the state is Bath, incorporated in 1705.
• 1722 - Know as "Fish Town" in the early 1700's when Blackbeard frequented the coast, "Beaufort Town" was established as a seaport with the right to collect customs.
• 1775 - Many people believe that North Carolina was the first state to declare independence from England with the Mecklenburg Declaration of 1775.
• 1822 - Hiram Rhoades Revels, born in Fayetteville, was the first African-American member of the United States Congress.
• 1898 - Pepsi was invented and first served in New Bern.
• 1903 - Wright Brothers made the first successful powered flight by man at Kill Devil Hill near Kitty Hawk. The Wright Memorial at Kitty Hawks now commemorates their achievement.
• 1914 - Babe Ruth hit his first home run in Fayetteville on March 7, 1914.
• 1943 - North Carolina was one of the first states in the U.S. to establish a state symphony. The North Carolina Symphony, founded in 1943, currently performs nearly 185 full-orchestra concerts each year.
• 1987 - The General Assembly adopted milk as the official state beverage.
• 1989 - Students at a Wilson County school petitioned the North Carolina General Assembly for the establishment of the sweet potato as the Official State Vegetable. Their assignment led to the creation of
  the newest state symbol. North Carolina is the largest producer of sweet potatoes in the nation harvesting over 4 billion pounds of the vegetable.

More North Carolina History Firsts - North Carolina State Facts

• The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill is the oldest State University in the United States.
• The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill is the oldest State University in the United States. 
• Whitewater Falls in Transylvania County is the highest waterfall in the eastern United States. 
• Krispy Kreme Doughnut was founded in Winston-Salem.
• The state's best-known scenic attraction is Great Smoky Mountains National Park, located astride the North Carolina-Tennessee border.
• The North Carolina Museum of Art, in Raleigh, is the nation's only art museum whose collection was founded with state funds
• High Point is known as the Furniture Capital of the World.
• The Outer Banks of NC hosts some of the most beautiful beaches in the country.
• Whitewater Falls in Transylvania County is the highest waterfall in the eastern United States.
• Cape Hatteras is the largest lighthouse ever to be moved due to erosion problems.
• The University of North Carolina's mascot, the Tarheels, is a nickname for North Carolinians that supposedly came from the days when NC produced a lot of tar, and someone saw a set of footprints made by someone who had stepped in the tar.
• Charles Karault was born and raised in Wilmington.
• Havelock is home of Marine Base "Cherry Point." It is the largest air base in the Marine Corps.
• North Carolina is the largest producer of sweet potatoes in the nation. Students at a Wilson County school petitioned the North Carolina General Assembly for the establishment of the sweet potato as the official state vegetable.
• Harker's Island hosts the annual Core Sound Decoy Festival in December.
• Morehead City is home to the North Carolina Seafood Festival, held the first weekend in October every year.
• The World War II battleship 'North Carolina' is permanently berthed on the Cape Fear River at Wilmington. She was saved from the scrap heap in the 1960's by public subscription, including donations of dimes by schoolchildren.
• The first English colony in America was located on Roanoke Island. Walter Raleigh founded it. The colony mysteriously vanished with no trace except for the word "Croatoan" scrawled on a nearby tree.
• Mount Mitchell in the Blue Ridge Mountains is the highest peak east of the Mississippi. It towers 6,684 feet above sea level.
• The Venus Fly-Trap is native to Hampstead.
• The first miniature golf course was built in Fayetteville.
• Winston-Salem was created when the two towns Winston and Salem combined.
• The Biltmore Estate in Ashville is America's largest home, and includes a 255-room chateau, an award-winning winery and extensive gardens.
• The Lost Colony Outdoor Drama in Albemarle commemorates the birth of Virginia Dare. Scheduled to run just one year, it proved so successful that it has played for nearly sixty consecutive summers.
• The first state owned art museum in the country is located in Raleigh.
• Fontana Dam is the tallest dam in the Eastern United States, at 480 feet high.
• Grandfather Mountain, highest peak in the Blue Ridge, is the only private park in the world designated by the United Nations as an International Biosphere Reserve.
• The Mile-High Swinging Bridge near Linville is 5,305 feet above sea level. The bridge actually hangs about 80 feet above the ground.
• Beech Mountain is Eastern America's highest town at 5,506ft above sea level.
• Andrew Jackson, seventh President of the United States, was born in the Waxsaws area on the border of North and South Carolina.
• Arnold Palmer recognized as the player whose aggressive play and winning personality raised golf to national attention, honed his skills on the championship golf team of Wake Forest University.
• James K. Polk, born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, was the eleventh President of the United States.
• Andrew Johnson started his career as a tailor's apprentice in Raleigh, North Carolina and rose to lead in the reuniting of the nation as the seventeenth President of the United States.
• North Carolina leads the nation in furniture, tobacco, brick, and textile production.
• Saluda, North Carolina is located at the top of the Saluda Grade. The crest of the steepest standard gauge mainline railroad in the United States.
• State Motto: Esse quam videri (To be rather than to seem)
• The town of Wendell town was named for the American writer, Oliver Wendell Holmes.
• The Swiss and German settlement of New Bern was named in honor of the founder's home, Bern, Switzerland. When Bern, Switzerland was founded, it was named by a group of hunters. They named the city for the first animal they came upon on their hunting expedition. It was a bear. "Bern" is the old Germanic word for Bear, and the bear became the symbol of the city. It has been adopted by New Bern, as well.
• North Carolina was the first state in the nation to establish a state museum of art.
• North Carolina has the largest state-maintained highway system in the United States. The state's highway system currently has 77,400 miles of roads
• Located in northeastern North Carolina on the Albemarle-Pamlico peninsula, Columbia is on the eastern shore of the Scuppernong River. The Indians called the area "the place of the sweet bay tree."
• White Lake near Elizabethtown is very unique in that it has a white sandy bottom and is blessed with crystal clear waters. It has also been labeled as the "Nation's Safest Beach." It is truly a child's paradise in that there are no currents, no tides, no hazardous depressions or real dangers of any kind to swimmers.
• North Carolina has 1,500 lakes of 10 acres or more in size and 37,000 miles of fresh water streams.