North Carolina
Entered the Union: Nov. 21, 1789 (12)		State Symbols Tree: Longleaf Pine Flower: Dogwood Bird: Cardinal Dog: Plott Hound Mammal: Gray Squirrel
Capital: Raleigh
Origin of Name: In honor of Charles I of England
State Nickname: Tar Heel State • Old North State
State Song: "The Old North State"
State Motto: Esse quam videri (To be rather than to seem)
National Forests: 4 • State Parks: 39
Famous For: Great Smoky Mountains, Blue Ridge National Parkway, Wright Brothers Memorial, beautiful beaches
Famous North Carolinans: David Brinkley (TV newscaster), Howard Cosell (sportscaster), Virginia Dare (first person born in America to English parents), Elizabeth Dole (senator), Donna Fargo • Roberta Flack • Ronnie Milsap (singers), Ava Gardner (actress), Billy Graham (evangelist), Andy Griffith (actor), O. Henry (writer), Andrew Johnson • James K. Polk (Presidents), Charles Kuralt (TV journalist), Sugar Ray Leonard • Floyd Patterson (boxers), Dolley Madison (first lady), Thelonious Monk (jazz pianist), Arnold Palmer (golf), Richard Petty (auto racer), Alfred Moore (US Supreme Court), Soupy Sales (comedian), John Coltrane (jazz), Earl Scruggs (bluegrass), Randy Travis (musician)
Animals and Birds: Click on photos of the animals and birds on this page to find out more about them and to hear the sounds they make.

Cherokee, Hateras, and Tuscarora Native American tribes lived in North Carolina when European explorers first arrived in the early 1500s. In Sept. 1711, Tuscarora Indians massacred hundreds of settlers, destroying most of the settlements along the Neuse River. This marked the beginning of the Tuscarora War (1711-1713).

The first English colony in America was located on Roanoke Island by Walter Raleigh. The colony mysteriously vanished with no trace except for the word "Croatoan" scrawled on a nearby tree.

In 1629, King Charles I of England "erected into a province," all the land from Albemarle Sound on the north to the St. John's River on the south, which he directed should be called Carolina. The word Carolina is from the word Carolus, the Latin form of Charles. In 1653 the first permanent settlements were established by English colonists from Virginia near the Roanoke and Chowan rivers.

When Carolina was divided in 1710, the southern part was called South Carolina and the northern, older settlement, North Carolina. From this came the nickname the “Old North State.”

The first English child born in America was born in Roanoke in 1587. Her name was Virginia Dare.

The United States Army was trying to develop an airplane, but the plane wouldn't fly. The New York Times wrote that maybe in 1 to 10 million years they might be able to make a plane that would fly. Only eight days later Wilbur and Orville Wright were successful in flying the first manned plane in Kitty Hawk. It cost them less than $1,000 to build.

Pepsi was invented and first served in New Bern in 1898.

North Carolina is the largest producer of sweet potatoes in the nation harvesting over 1.5 billion pounds

The principle products produced by early North Carolina were "tar, pitch, and turpentine." As the story goes, It was during one of the fiercest battles of the Civil War that the column supporting the North Carolina troops was driven from the field. After the battle, the North Carolinians who had successfully fought it out alone were greeted from the passing derelict regiment with the question: "Any more tar down in the Old North State, boys?" Quick as a flash came the answer: "No, not a bit, old Jeff's bought it all up." "Is that so; what is he going to do with it?" was asked. "He's going to put on you-un's heels to make you stick better in the next fight." Upon hearing of the incident, General Lee said: "God bless the “Tar Heel” boys," and from that they took the name.

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.

Krispy Kreme Doughnut was founded in Winston-Salem.

The Venus Fly-Trap is native to Hampstead.

The first miniature golf course was built in Fayetteville.

The Biltmore Estate in Ashville is America's largest home, and includes a 250-room chateau, an award-winning winery and extensive gardens.

Hiram Rhoades Revels, born in Fayetteville in 1822, was the first African-American member of the United States Congress.

North Carolina leads the nation in furniture, tobacco, and brick production. It is also known for its production of stawberries and blueberries.

North Carolina's Ethnic Roots: African 21.6%, Scots/Scots-Irish 13.9%, English 9.5%, German 9.5%, Irish 7.4%, and one of the largest Native American populations in the United States.

Religion in North Carolina: 88% Christian (77% Protestant, 10% Catholic, 1% Other), 11% No Religion, 1% Other Religions

White Lake near Elizabethtown is very unique in that it has a white sandy bottom and crystal clear waters.

Michael Jordan always wore his University of North Carolina shorts
under his NBA Bulls uniform for good luck.

At a Glance

North Carolina Quick Facts

Entered the Union	Nov. 21, 1789 (12)
Capital	Raleigh
Nickname	Tar Heel State • Old North State
State Bird	Cardinal
State Flower	Dogwood
State Tree	Longleaf Pine

New for 2026

More North Carolina Facts & Photos

Mount Mitchell, at 6,684 feet the highest peak east of the Mississippi River, became North Carolina's first state park in 1915. The mountain is named for Elisha Mitchell, the professor who surveyed it in 1835 and later died in a fall there.

The first documented gold discovery in the United States happened in Cabarrus County in 1799, when 12-year-old Conrad Reed pulled a 17-pound nugget from Little Meadow Creek. His family used it as a doorstop for three years before a jeweler identified it as gold.

The pirate Blackbeard's flagship, Queen Anne's Revenge, ran aground at Beaufort Inlet in 1718. The wreck was discovered in 1996, and divers have since recovered hundreds of thousands of artifacts from it.

North Carolina adopted the fossilized teeth of the megalodon shark as its official state fossil in 2013. The idea started as a science project by middle school students in the coastal town of Newport.

In 1965 North Carolina became the first state to name an official state shell, choosing the Scotch bonnet in honor of its early Scottish settlers.

Fontana Dam, completed in 1944 on the Little Tennessee River, stands 480 feet high, the tallest dam in the eastern United States. The Appalachian Trail crosses right over its top.

View south from the summit of Mount Mitchell, North Carolina — The view south from Mount Mitchell, which at 6,684 feet is the highest point east of the Mississippi River.

Voices of America

In Their Own Words

George Washington

"The Hand of providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked, that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations."

Letter to
Brig. General Thomas Nelson
Aug. 20, 1778

President

John Adams

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

President

Jesse Helms

"I have tried at every point to seek God's wisdom on the decisions I made, and I made it my business to speak up on behalf of the things God tells us are important to Him."

(Oct.18, 1921 - July 4, 2008)

Senator

Thomas Jefferson

"Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever."

President

Last updated: July 2026