More about N.C.

N.C. History

Learn about North Carolina’s history, from pre-Columbian times, to when explorers first found our coast, to the U.S. revolution and Civil War. More information can be found in NCpedia. Visit North Carolina’s historic sites.

Firsts in North Carolina

First Flight

• The Wright brothers completed the first successful flight of a mechanically propelled airplane over the sands of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903.
• The University of North Carolina was the first public university in the United States to open its doors.
• The first known miniature golf course was in Fayetteville, North Carolina. 
• Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run in Fayetteville on March 7, 1914. 
• The first English child born in America, Virginia Dare, was born in Roanoke, North Carolina, in 1587.
• Many people believe that North Carolina was the first state to declare independence from England with the Mecklenburg Declaration of 1775.
• Cabarrus County, North Carolina, was the site of America's first gold rush.
• What was probably the first drawbridge built in the United States was built over the Cape Fear River.
• The first state art museum in the country is located in Raleigh.

Famous North Carolinians

• Virginia Dare was the first child born to English-speaking parents in the New World. She was born on Roanoke Island in 1587.
• The pirate Blackbeard is known to have spent time in North Carolina. The probable remains of his flagship Queen Anne’s Revenge were found off Beaufort in 1996. Underwater archaeologists from Cultural Resources expect to eventually salvage more than 700,000 artifacts from the wreck.
• Journalists David Brinkley and Edward R. Murrow were North Carolina born.
• Rev. Billy Graham was born in Charlotte and now lives near Montreat.
• Famed furniture maker Thomas Day was a free African American craftsman in North Carolina in the days before the Civil War.
• Sen. Sam Ervin, head of the Watergate Committee, was from Morganton.
• Andy Griffith, beloved actor. "The Andy Griffith Show" was set in Mayberry, a fictional town modeled after Griffith's home town of Mt. Airy.
• Ezzell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Joseph McNeil, and Franklin McCain were the four students who staged the first sit-in protest. The men, students at N.C. A &T, were protesting service for whites only at the Greensboro Woolworth lunch counter in 1960.
• Dr. Oliver Smithies (professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill since 1988) Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology 2007. Dr. Smithies and two others were honored "for their discoveries of principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells."

Natural Beauty, Naturally Fun

Mountains to the Coast: Geography

There are three distinct landforms of the Southeast and of North Carolina: the Coastal Plain, the Piedmont and the Appalachian Mountains. The Coastal Plain is low, flat to gently sloping land that extends along the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Much of the Southeast lies within the Coastal Plain. The Piedmont, characterized by hilly, rolling land, borders the Coastal Plain. The Piedmont extends from Virginia to Alabama. The Appalachian Mountains, the largest range in the eastern United States, stretch from Canada to northern Alabama.

Wildlife

Wildlife Photo Contest Winner

Awed by North Carolina’s natural beauty and its wildlife, the earliest English explorers described our state as “the goodliest land under the cope of heaven.” North Carolina remains rich in resources, with a stunning array of wild creatures, from Canada geese to painted buntings to white-tailed deer, bog turtles and our native brook trout. This is a great state for hunting, fishing, boating, and wildlife viewing, perhaps in one of our state parks.

Arts and Culture

Cultural and educational experiences are plentiful. The nation’s first state-supported symphony and art museum continue to flourish in the state. Along with celebrated Native American and Civil War roots, we also commemorate the Wright Brothers’first moments of flight.
Summer theaters, wineries and festivals abound throughout the state, as does outdoor drama. A nationally recognized zoological park and extensive system of aquariums support wildlife education.

Recreation and Sports

Recreational opportunities range from celebrated golf courses to outdoor sports, to college and professional athletics. The state’s beaches, national and state parks and mountains offer boating, kayaking, fishing, hiking and skiing. Outdoor recreation areas include the Blue Ridge Parkway, Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout national seashores, and 36 state parks.
North Carolina’s Pinehurst, established in 1895, is considered the home of American golf. Pinehurst will host the U.S. Open again in 2014. Pinehurst’s nearby Pine Needles was the site of the 2007 Women's U.S. Open.
When you’d rather watch sports than participate, North Carolina boasts an array of professional football, hockey, basketball and baseball teams. The Carolina Hurricanes hoisted hockey’s biggest honor, the 2006 Stanley Cup. North Carolina is the heart of the stock car racing world.
Four universities in the Atlantic Coast Conference, including North Carolina State University, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Wake Forest University and Duke University, provide plenty of sports rivalry. National Collegiate Athletic Association Conference contenders North Carolina Central University and Appalachian State University also compete nationally with the latter winning back-to-back championships.

Higher Education

North Carolina is a great place to further your education or to send your kids to school.
The University of North Carolina was the first public university in the United States to open its doors and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century. The University of North Carolina is a public, multi-campus university dedicated to the service of North Carolina and its people. It encompasses the 16 diverse constituent institutions and other educational, research, and public service organizations. Additionally North Carolina has 36 private, non-profit liberal arts, comprehensive, and research colleges and universities accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, including Duke University, Elon University, and Davidson College.
NC Community Colleges are one of the most comprehensive community college systems in the nation. Originally created in the years following World War II, in response to the state’s rapid shift from an agricultural to an industrial economy, community colleges in North Carolina continue to be deeply rooted in economic development and workforce training while also providing Basic Skills and literacy education, and pre-baccalaureate programs." North Carolina’s community colleges open the door to high-quality, accessible educational opportunities that minimize barriers to post-secondary education, maximize student success, develop a globally and multi-culturally competent workforce, and improve the lives and well-being of individuals.