NORTH CAROLINA

Origin of Name:  From Carolus, the Latin form of the name Charles, in honor of Charles I of England

Capital:  Raleigh

Statehood:  Nov 21, 1789

Nickname:  The Tarheel State, and the Old North State

State Song:  'The Old North State' by William Gaston

Motto:  To be rather than to seem

State Bird:  Cardinal

State Tree:  Pine

State Flower:  Dogwood

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The Tar Heel Toast

The following toast was officially adopted as the
State Toast of North Carolina by the General Assembly
of 1957. (Session Laws, 1957, c. 777).

Here's to the land of the long leaf pine,
The summer land where the sun doth shine,
Where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great,
Here's to "Down Home," the Old North State!

Here's to the land of the cotton bloom white,
Where the scuppernong perfumes the breeze at night,
Where the soft southern moss and jessamine mate,
'Neath the murmuring pines of the Old North State!

Here's to the land where the galax grows,
Where the rhododendrons rosette glows,
Where soars Mount Mitchell's summit great,
In the "Land of the Sky," in the Old North State!

Here's to the land where maidens are fair,
Where friends are true and cold hearts rare,
The near land, the dear land, whatever fate,
The blest land, the best land, the Old North State!

by Leonora Martin and Mary Burke Kerr (1904)