Some Interesting Facts about North Carolina:
The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill is the oldest State University in the United States.
In 1903 the 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.
High Point is known as the Furniture Capital of the World.
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, in 1722.
Whitewater Falls in Transylvania County is the highest waterfall in the eastern United States.
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.
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.
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. (Loved the views!)
Krispy Kreme Doughnut was founded in Winston-Salem by Vernon Rudolph in 1937.
The Venus Fly-Trap is native to Hampstead.
The first miniature golf course was built in Fayetteville.
Babe Ruth hit his first home run in Fayetteville on March 7, 1914.
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. (Been there, would go again in a heart beat!)
The first English child born in America was born in Roanoke in 1587. Her name was Virginia Dare.
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. (Fabulous views!)
The Mile-High Swinging Bridge near Linville is 5,305 feet above sea level. The bridge actually hangs about 80 feet above the ground. (Bridge is shown in above photo. Been there.....freaked out going over the bridge both ways. Crawled all over the rocks with no fear.....but that bridge.......).
Pepsi was invented and first served in New Bern in 1898. A drugstore clerk named Caleb Bradham invented Pepsi, which he originally called “Brad’s Drink.” The former doctor-in-training believed his syrupy concoction aided digestion, and re-named the drink “Pepsi-Cola ” in 1898 after the word “dyspepsia.”**
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.
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 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.
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
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 exactly 100 counties. It’s the only state in the nation to make that claim.
North Carolina has 1,500 lakes of 10 acres or more in size and 37,000 miles of fresh water streams.
In 1954, a Fayetteville, North Carolina resident named Don Clayton created Putt-Putt golf as a no-frills alternative to windmill-filled, obstacle-ridden mini-golf courses.
Nascar was born in North Carolina, and all because of moonshine. During prohibition the state was known as the “Moonshine Capital of the World.” The repeal of Prohibition in 1933 didn’t stop them and in fact, they knew they needed to get faster. Hence, stock car racing and eventually Nascar.
North Carolina is home to Cape Hatteras, the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States. Original construction was in 1802 and it stands at 210 feet-tall, with a range of 24 nautical miles.*It is the largest lighthouse ever to be moved due to erosion problems.
Some Strange Laws in North Carolina:
- It’s illegal to borrow your neighbor’s dog.*
- It’s illegal to hold an organizational meeting while wearing a mask.
- Stealing over $1,000 of grease is a felony.
- Elephants may not be used to plow cotton fields.
- It's against the law to sing off key.
- Bingo games may not last more than five hours, and alcohol is not allowed at bingo games and its illegal for Grandma to get intoxicated at Bingo night.
- It is illegal to rollerblade on state highways.
- Driving on sidewalks is illegal.
- Visiting the dead after midnight is illegal.
- Women are required to wear clothes that total 16 yards. Meaning Daisy Dukes=illegal.
The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill is the oldest State University in the United States.
In 1903 the 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.
High Point is known as the Furniture Capital of the World.
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, in 1722.
Whitewater Falls in Transylvania County is the highest waterfall in the eastern United States.
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.
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.
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. (Loved the views!)
Krispy Kreme Doughnut was founded in Winston-Salem by Vernon Rudolph in 1937.
The Venus Fly-Trap is native to Hampstead.
The first miniature golf course was built in Fayetteville.
Babe Ruth hit his first home run in Fayetteville on March 7, 1914.
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. (Been there, would go again in a heart beat!)
The first English child born in America was born in Roanoke in 1587. Her name was Virginia Dare.
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. (Fabulous views!)
The Mile-High Swinging Bridge near Linville is 5,305 feet above sea level. The bridge actually hangs about 80 feet above the ground. (Bridge is shown in above photo. Been there.....freaked out going over the bridge both ways. Crawled all over the rocks with no fear.....but that bridge.......).
Pepsi was invented and first served in New Bern in 1898. A drugstore clerk named Caleb Bradham invented Pepsi, which he originally called “Brad’s Drink.” The former doctor-in-training believed his syrupy concoction aided digestion, and re-named the drink “Pepsi-Cola ” in 1898 after the word “dyspepsia.”**
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.
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 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.
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
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 exactly 100 counties. It’s the only state in the nation to make that claim.
North Carolina has 1,500 lakes of 10 acres or more in size and 37,000 miles of fresh water streams.
In 1954, a Fayetteville, North Carolina resident named Don Clayton created Putt-Putt golf as a no-frills alternative to windmill-filled, obstacle-ridden mini-golf courses.
Nascar was born in North Carolina, and all because of moonshine. During prohibition the state was known as the “Moonshine Capital of the World.” The repeal of Prohibition in 1933 didn’t stop them and in fact, they knew they needed to get faster. Hence, stock car racing and eventually Nascar.
North Carolina is home to Cape Hatteras, the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States. Original construction was in 1802 and it stands at 210 feet-tall, with a range of 24 nautical miles.*It is the largest lighthouse ever to be moved due to erosion problems.
Some Strange Laws in North Carolina:
- It’s illegal to borrow your neighbor’s dog.*
- It’s illegal to hold an organizational meeting while wearing a mask.
- Stealing over $1,000 of grease is a felony.
- Elephants may not be used to plow cotton fields.
- It's against the law to sing off key.
- Bingo games may not last more than five hours, and alcohol is not allowed at bingo games and its illegal for Grandma to get intoxicated at Bingo night.
- It is illegal to rollerblade on state highways.
- Driving on sidewalks is illegal.
- Visiting the dead after midnight is illegal.
- Women are required to wear clothes that total 16 yards. Meaning Daisy Dukes=illegal.
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