Also see Specific Destinations, Travel and Location Humor.

Page Toppers

• Carolina Country Morning
• Carolina Hayride
• Carolina in the Morning
• Carolina Moon
• Carolina Sunrise
• Carolina Sunshine
• Cold Carolina Morning
• Dreamy Carolina Moon
• Gone to Carolina

Quotes

• Attractive Wrightsville Beach is representative of the new communities that have sprung up around boating centers. Drawing its principal sustenance from nearby Wilmington, it is a thriving town of its own now. (Walter Cronkite)
• I could not have known, on that first trip to Greensboro in 1972, how rich and textured Greensboro was as an embodiment of our national experience. (William H. Chafe)
• I suppose more than anything, it's the way of life in this part of the country that influences my writing. In Eastern North Carolina, with the exception of Wilmington, most people live in small towns. (Nicholas Sparks)
• It was just another beautiful day in Chapel Hill. As the local saying has it, 'If God isn't a Tar Heel, why is the sky Carolina blue?' (Jonathan Yardley)
• We must remember that North Carolina is more than a collection of regions and people. We are one state, one people, one family, bound by a common concern for each other. (Michael F. Easley)

North Carolina Symbols

• Nicknames: The Old North State; The Land of the Sky; The Turpentine state
• Slogan: A Better Place to Be
• Motto: To be, rather than to seem
• Colors: Red and Blue
• Song: The Old North State (words by William Gaston, music by Mrs. E. E. Randolph)
• Dance: Carolina Shag
• Folk Dance: Clogging
• Mammal: Gray Squirrel
• Dog: Plott Hound
• Bird: Cardinal
• Fish: Channel Bass
• Reptile: Eastern Box Turtle
• Insect: Honeybee
• Tree: Longleaf Pine
• Flower: Dogwood
• Wildflower: Carolina Lily
• Shell: Scotch Bonnet
• Gemstone: Emerald
• Rock: Granite
• Beverage: Milk
• Vegetable: Sweet Potato
• Fruit: Scuppernong Grape
• Blue Berry: Blueberry
• Red Berry: Strawberry
• Pro Sports Teams: Carolina Hurricanes (hockey), Carolina Courage (women's soccer), Carolina Panthers (football)

Facts About North Carolina

• Capital: Raleigh
• Residents: North Carolinians
• State Name Origin: named after Charles IX of France and Charles I and II of England
• Admitted to Statehood: 21 Nov 1789
• Order of Admission: 12th state
• Coastline/Shoreline: 301/3,375 miles
• Length: 500 miles
• Width: 150 miles
• Area: 53,819 square miles
• Size Rank: 28
• Number of Counties: 100
• Lakes: 1,500 lakes of 10 acres or more in size
• Streams and Rivers: 37,853 miles
• Geographic Center: 10 miles NW of Sanford in Chatham Co.
• Mean Elevation: 700 feet
• Highest Point: Mt. Mitchell, 6,684 feet (highest peak east of the Mississippi)
• Lowest Point: Atlantic coast, sea level
• Agricultural Products: peanuts, soybeans, sweet potatoes (more than any other state), corn, cotton, hay, vegetables, tobacco
• Commercial Products: furniture, brick, clothing and textiles, metalwork, chemicals, paper, mica, lithium, industrial machinery, electronic equipment
• Average Annual Rainfall: 42.5 inches
• Average Winter High Temperature: 39 degrees
• Record Low Temperature: -34 degrees (21 Jan 1985 Mt. Mitchell)
• Average Summer High Temperature: 79 degrees
• Record High Temperature: 110 degrees (21 Aug 1983 Fayetteville)
• Official Language: English (since 1987)
• More information about North Carolina

North Carolina Toast

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.

Items of Interest

• 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 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.
• The first English child born in America was born in Roanoke in 1587. Her name was Virginia Dare.
• Krispy Kreme Doughnut was founded in Winston-Salem.
• The first miniature golf course was built in Fayetteville.
• The Biltmore Estate in Ashville is America's largest home, and includes a 255-room chateau, an award-winning winery and extensive gardens.
• The first state owned art museum in the country is located in Raleigh.
• 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.
• Pepsi was invented and first served in New Bern in 1898.
• North Carolina leads the nation in furniture, brick, and textile production.
• North Carolina was the first state in the nation to establish a state museum of art.
• North Carolina has the largest state-maintained highway system in the United States with 77,400 miles of roads
• White Lake near Elizabethtown is known as the "Nation's Safest Beach". It has a white sandy bottom and crystal clear waters. There are no currents, no tides, no hazardous depressions or other dangers to swimmers.

Notable Natives

Some of these were born here, others just lived a while in the state.

• Thomas Hart Benton - statesman
• Caleb Bradham (1867-1934) - pharmacist, created Pepsi as a treatment for indigestion
• Braxton Bragg - soldier (Warrenton)
• David Brinkley - television newscaster (Wilkesboro)
• Thomas L. Clingman - soldier, politician
• Howard Cosell - sportscaster (Winston-Salem)
• Josephus Daniels - journalist
• Virginia Dare - first child born to English-speaking parents in the new world (Roanoke Island)
• Elizabeth Hanford Dole (1936- ) - public official (Salisbury)
• James B. Duke - industrialist (Durham)
• Donna Fargo - country music singer (Mount Airy)
• Roberta Flack - singer (Black Mountain)
• Ava Gardner (1922-1990) - actress (Smithfield)
• Richard Gatling - inventor (Hertford County)
• Billy Graham - evangelist (Charlotte)
• Kathryn Grayson - actress (Winston-Salem)
• Paul Green - author
• Andy Griffith (1926- ) - actor (Mount Airy)
• Pleasant Hanes (1845-1925) - founder of Hanes Corporation (Winston-Salem)
• Jesse Helms - politician (Monroe)
• O. Henry - see William Sydney Porter
• Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) - 7th U.S. (Waxsaws area)
• Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) - 17th U.S. president (started as a tailor's apprentice in Raleigh)
• Michael Jordan (1963- ) - basketball player (Wilmington)
• Charles Kuralt - television journalist (Wilmington)
• Herman Lay (1909-1982) - over of Frito-Lay, Inc (Charlotte)
• Sugar Ray Leonard (1956- ) - Olympic boxer (Wilmington)
• Dolly Payne Madison - U.S. first lady (Guliford county)
• Ronnie Milsap - country music singer (Robinsville)
• Thelonious Monk - pianist (Rocky Mount)
• Edward R. Murrow - television journalist (Greensboro)
• Arnold Palmer (1929- ) - professional golfer
• Floyd Patterson - boxer (Waco)
• Richard Petty - auto racer (Level Cross)
• James K. Polk (1795-1849) - 11th U.S. president (Mecklenburg County)
• Babe Ruth - baseball player, hit his first professional home run in Fayetteville Mar 7, 1914
• William Sydney Porter aka "O. Henry" (1862-1910) - author (Greensboro)
• Hiram Rhoades Revels (1822-1901) - Civil War veteran, minister, first African-American member of the U.S. Congress (Fayetteville)
• Soupy Sales - comedian (Wake Forest)
• Earl Scruggs - bluegrass musician (Flint Hill)
• Randy Travis - country music singer (Charlotte)
• John Scott Trotter - orchestra leader (Charlotte)
• Thomas Clayton Wolfe (1900 - ) - author (Asheville)

The North Carolina State Flag
The flag has a wide blue vertical stripe at one end with two wide horizontal bars extending from it (the top red, the bottom white). The length of the flag is one-third more than its width. In the center of the blue section is a white star between the gold letters "N" and "C". Above the star is a gold scroll with the date "May 20th, 1775," and below the star is a scroll with the date "April 12th, 1776."

You know you are from North Carolina if...

• You've gotten used to the smell of cow manure on a car trip to Raleigh.
• Saying "y'all" isn't just a cute expression; it actually means something.
• There are big Labrador retrievers in the back of every truck.
• You give directions using KFC and Waffle House as landmarks.
• You still see Dale Earnhardt tributes on cars.
• You can't imagine life without Bojangles' sweet tea
• Your annual church fundraiser always deals with BBQ and potato salad.
• You have a sunburn from May to October.
• Your 'heavy winter clothing' consists of some turtleneck sweaters, a fuzzy jacket, and your daddy's boots.
• Your family has fried chicken once a week.
• You can tell the difference between cotton fields and tobacco fields while driving.
• One of your neighbors has a confederate flag hanging on their front porch.
• Those "damn Yankees" are taking over your school/church/workplace/neighborhood...
• You've been "properly raised", and Yankees love it when they hear you say "ma'am" and "sir".
• You get your carbs from biscuits, rolls, pancakes, and grits.
• You know the difference between a "redneck" and a "hick".
• You own at least one surf shop or seafood restaurant shirt.
• No matter what those people in Ohio say, we are still "first in flight".
• The Coca-Cola 600 is as big as the Super Bowl.
• You prefer Chick-fil-a to KFC.
• You know pastry is a chicken stew, not a dessert item.
• Every time you visit someone you're offered something to eat and a glass of tea.
• Your granddaddy always wore overalls and your grandma always wore an apron.
• In summer you have home-grown tomatoes with every meal.
• When it rains and the creek rises, everyone gathers to see how high it rose.
• You know that "chunk" the ball means to throw it.
• You've had a burger "all the way"--chili and slaw on it.
• You can recognize a copperhead and your heart drops when you see one.
• You have at least one relative that raises collards.
• Your folks have taken trips to the mountains to look at leaves.
• Your school classes were canceled because of a hurricane.
• You know Krispy Kreme makes the best doughnut.
• You have an opinion about UNC. You went there and loved it, or you hate everyone who did.
• You know the best BBQ is found in Lexington.
• You would rather eat at Bojangles's than McDonald's.
• You have actually uttered the phrase "It's too hot to go to the pool".
• You faithfully drink Pepsi or Mt. Dew everyday of your life.
• You have your own secret BBQ sauce.
• You or your neighbors have more hunting dogs than you have family members.
• You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from North Carolina.

Songs about North Carolina

• Charlotte Belle - Dick Thomas and His Nashville Ramblers (1947)
• Greensboro Woman - Townes Van Zandt (1972)
• Home in My Heart (North Carolina) - Claudia Church (1999)
• Mayberry - Rascal Flatts (2004) (fictional city)
• North Carolina - Bytown Bluegrass (1985)
• Way Down in North Carolina - Mike Seeger and Paul Brown (1996)

Songs about Carolina

• Carolina Country Morning - Eddy Raven (1974)
• Carolina Day - Livingston Taylor (1970)
• Carolina Dreams - Ronnie Milsap (1982)
• Carolina Girls, Best in the World - Chairmen of the Board (1980)
• Carolina Hayride - Jim Bows and the Flycatchers (2009)
• Carolina in the morning - Bill Haley and the Comets (1957)
• Carolina in the Pines - Michael Martin Murphey (1975)
• Carolina Moon - Connie Francis (1958)
• Carolina Mountain Home - Ricky Skaggs (1999)
• Carolina on My Mind - James Taylor (1968)
• Carolina Pines - Kate Wolf (1985)
• Carolina Rolling Stone - Vernon Dalhart (1922)
• Carolina Star - Bytown Bluegrass (1985)
• Carolina Sunrise - Wayne Carson (1987)
• Carolina Sunshine - Dale VanHorne (1987)
• Carolina Sunshine Girl - Buck Graves (2000)
• Carolina Waltz - Clyde Moody (1948)
• Clouds Over Carolina - Larry Rice (2005)
• Coast of Carolina, The - Jimmy Buffett (2005)
• Cold Carolina Morning - Rebecca Lynn (1974)
• Dreamy Carolina Moon - Connie Francis (1958)
• Gone to Carolina - Shooter Jennings (2005)
• Goodbye to Carolina - Lyle Lovett (1994)
• Kinfolks in Carolina - Doc and Merle Watson (1974)
• Light from Carolina - The Contenders (1978)
• Memories of My Carolina Girl - The Delmore Brothers (1937)
• My Carolina Home - Laura Boosinger (1988)
• My Carolina Sunshine Girl - Hoyt Axton (1971)
• My Girl in Caroline - Mac and Bob (1931)
• Oh Carolina - Shaggy (1993)
• Take Me Back to My Carolina Home - Riley Puckett and Red Jones (1936)