✈️North Carolina

The Tar Heel State · First in Flight

North Carolina is where the Wright Brothers achieved the first powered flight in 1903 on the sands of Kitty Hawk, and where the English first attempted to colonize America at Roanoke in the 1580s. Today the state anchors the Research Triangle — a cluster of technology and biomedical research around Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill — and Charlotte has grown into the second-largest banking center in the United States after New York.

The Lost Colony

In 1587, 115 English colonists led by John White established the first English settlement in the New World on Roanoke Island off what is now North Carolina's Outer Banks. White returned to England for supplies and could not get back until 1590 due to the war with Spain. When he finally returned, the colony had vanished — the only clue a single word carved into a tree: "CROATOAN." The fate of the Lost Colony remains a genuine historical mystery.

First in Flight

On December 17, 1903, brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright achieved the first controlled, sustained, powered flight of a heavier-than-air craft on the sand dunes at Kitty Hawk. Orville's first flight lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet. Three more flights followed that day; the longest covered 852 feet in 59 seconds. The Wright Brothers National Memorial commemorates the site. North Carolina license plates have read "First in Flight" since 1982.

Tobacco and Textiles

North Carolina was historically the largest producer of tobacco in the United States, and the tobacco towns of Winston-Salem and Durham produced cigarette giants R.J. Reynolds and American Tobacco Company. The state also had one of the largest textile industries, with mills clustered along the Piedmont from Greensboro to Gastonia. Both industries declined dramatically in the late 20th century.

Research Triangle and Banking

The Research Triangle Park — anchored by Duke University in Durham, the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University in Raleigh — was established in 1959 and is now one of the largest research parks in the world, home to IBM, GlaxoSmithKline, Cisco, Red Hat, and hundreds of startups. Charlotte has become the second-largest banking center in the country as the headquarters of Bank of America and a major hub for Wells Fargo.

North Carolina Facts

• North Carolina has more freshwater and saltwater coastline combined than any state except Alaska and Florida.
• Andrew Jackson, the 7th president, was born in the disputed Waxhaws region; both Carolinas claim him.
• The Great Smoky Mountains — the most visited national park in the United States — straddles the North Carolina-Tennessee border.
• Pepsi-Cola was invented in New Bern, North Carolina, in 1898.
• Michael Jordan grew up in Wilmington and played college basketball at UNC before entering the NBA.

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