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Some Interesting Facts About North Carolina

FIRST IN FREEDOM: North Carolina was the first state to declare independence from England with the Mecklenburg Declaration of 1775.

FIRST IN FLIGHT: The first powered flight by the Wright brothers happened at Kitty Hawk, NC

Population: Approximately 8.1 million according to the 2000 census (11th in the nation).
Update: 2010 census Population 9,535,483 (#10 in country).

Largest City: Charlotte with 550,000 residents and over 1.4 million in the metro area.
Update: 2010 census Population 731,424 (#17 in country); Metro area population was 1,758,038 (Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC Metro Area)

Smallest Town: Dellview  has a population of 16 and regularly vies for the honor of smallest incorporated town in the U.S.
Update: 2010 Census: population of 13.

Area 53821 sq. mi, 28th of 50

Land 48718 sq. mi. 29th of 50

Fresh Water 5103 sq. mi 10th of 50

Coastline 301 mi., 7th of 50

Shoreline 3375 mi., 6th of 50

Esse Quam Videri - To Be, Rather Than To Seem - our state motto

Mount Mitchell, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, is the highest peak east of the Mississippi. Height is 6,684 feet.

The first English settlement in the New World was in NC - The Lost Colony that no one knows what happened to!

From Manteo in the east to Murphy in the west, North Carolina is 560 miles long, making it the longest state east of the Mississippi.  (Measured east-west.)

The largest, privately owned house in America is Asheville's Biltmore House

NC boasts the most outdoor dramas of any state, we also had the first outdoor drama - The Lost Colony that details the first English settlement

The Hatteras Lighthouse is the tallest brick lighthouse in the US

Pepsi Cola was invented in North Carolina 100 years ago in 1898

NC was the last state to secede from the Union during the Civil War

Belmont Abbey was the first abbey cathedral in the Western Hemisphere

The top industry in the state is Textiles, followed closely by Furniture

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.

Fontana Dam is the tallest dam in the Eastern United States, at 480 feet high.

Raleigh-Cary, with a metropolitan area population of 1,130,490, is the 4th fastest growing metro area in the U.S. (2010 census) with 41.8% growth.

State:

Some Dates In NC History

    1492-1692. Diseases carried by the foreigners brought about the demise of about 95 percent of the Cherokee Nation during the first 200 years of European presence.

    1629. King Charles I. grants territory, located between 31° and 36° N latitude, to Sir Robert Heath, who names it "Carolina" after the king.

    1705. First school opened, in Pasquotank County. Bath is first town incorporated.

    1710. Colony of Swiss and German Protestants founded New Bern.

    1711-1713. Indians massacre settlers in Tuscarora War.

    1713. Tuscarora Indians migrate into New York.

    1712. Carolina divided into two provinces.

    1729. Seven lords proprietors sell lands to George II.

    1771. Farmers oppose British rule; are defeated in battle of Alamance Creek.

    1774. Provincial congress organized at New Bern to plan resistance against royal rule.

    1775. Citizens of Mecklenburg County may have issued first declaration of independence.

    1776. Milita defeat Loyalist troops at Moore's Creek Bridge near Wilmington Feb. 27th.

             First state constitution adopted May 20th. (Population: 300,000; 3rd largest in the Union)

    1780. General Charles Cornwallis occupies Charlotte.

             Frontiersmen attack Tory forces at King's Mountain Oct. 7th.

    1781. Cornwallis forced to retreat at Battle of Guilford Courthouse.

    1784. State of Franklin organized; collapses in 1788.

    1789. North Carolina is 12th state to ratify United States Constitution, Nov. 21th.

    1790. North Carolina cedes western lands to United States.

    1792. Permanent capital site surveyed; named Raleigh.

    1813. First Cotton Mill founded near Lincolnton.

    1829. Andrew Jackson becomes seventh president of US.

    1838. Most of the Cherokee tribe is forcibly moved to Oklahoma (Trail of Tears).

    1840. Present State Capitol completed.

    1845. James K. Polk, born 1795 in Mecklenburg County, becomes 11th US president.

    1861. North Carolina secedes from Union, May 20.

    1865. Andrew Johnson, born 1808 in Raleigh, becomes 17th US president.

            Wilmington is one of last Confederate ports captured

            Gen. Joseph E. Johnston surrenders to Gen. William T. Sherman at Durham.

            Legislature ratifies the 13th Amendment to the US constitution, ending slavery, Dec 4.

    1868. North Carolina readmitted to Union, July 20.

    1890. James B. Duke founds American Tobacco Company.

    1901. Governor Aycock vigorous developments natural resources and better schools.

    1903. Wright brothers make flight near Kitty Hawk.

    1944. Fontana Dam completed (480 feet tall).

    1953. Nuclear reactor dedicated at North Carolina State University.

    1957. Research Triangle Park created by area Universities.

    1963. State House completed; houses state legislature.

    1965. First state-supported school for the performing arts opens in Winston-Salem.

    1966. Cape Lookout National Seashore established.

    1970. Present constitution adopted; effective 1971.

    1976. Section of New River designated a "scenic river" to prevent construction of a dam.

    1988. Drought disaster declared during worst drought and heat wave since the 1930s.