North Carolina

North Carolina runs from sea level (Atlantic Ocean) to 6,684’ (Mount Mitchell, the highest point in the eastern US).

Mount Mitchell

North Carolina is 9.5% water.

The Carolina territory was named Carolana by King Charles II in 1663, in memory of his father, King Charles I, and originally included what’s now North Carolina, South Carolina and part of Georgia.

In 1730, N.C.’s population was 35,000; by 1775, it was 350,000.  In the mid- to late-1700’s, Scots-Irish and English indentured servants were the largest immigrant group.

N.C. didn’t secede until Lincoln wanted them to invade South Carolina.  N.C. provided 125,000 troops to the Confederacy – far more than any other state, but also 15,000 to the Union.

Only Florida and Louisiana get more hurricanes than N.C.

After the Revolutionary War, there were so many Germans, not only in N.C. but throughout the colonies, that German was seriously considered for an official language of the U.S.

Manufacturing accounts for 1/5 of all jobs – the highest percentage in the U.S.

Superior High Point furniture

N.C. is #1 in the U.S. for textiles; Greensboro has the world’s largest denim mill.

N.C. is #1 in the U.S. for furniture making.

Wilmington has the largest TV/film facility outside California, the 3^rd largest sound stage in the U.S., and the largest special-effects water tank in North America.

BBQ in west N.C. is tomato-based; in east N.C. it’s vinegar-based.

Carolina tartan

N.C. has an official state tartan (Carolina tartan), an official state sport (NASCAR), and an official state carnivorous plant (Venus Flytrap).