North Carolina is often called the Tar Heel State. There are actually several different versions of how the Tar Heel State got its nickname. Find out about this and other interesting bits of trivia in the following paragraphs.
In colonial times, North Carolina was a major producer of pine tar. In an effort to slow down the invading British forces, it is said that the local militia poured the pine by-product on the Tar River and then ignited the substance in order to slow down the British advance. Those soldiers who got there boots all soaked in tar were the first Tar Heels.
A more recent version of the story attributes the nickname to a comment that General Robert E. Lee made during the Civil War. He was so impressed with the ability of the North Carolina Regulars to stand their ground and fight that he referred to them as the Tar Heel Boys.
This slogan that now appears on the state license plate refers to the Wright Brothers who journeyed from Ohio to the coastal town of Kitty Hawk in 1903 to test their fledgling gasoline-powered aircraft. Their biplane successfully lifted off the ground and flew for a total of 120 feet.
The shallow shoals off the coast of Cape Hatteras are referred to as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" because of the large number of ships that sailed too close to shore and were shipwrecked.
The state tree is the longleaf pine, a tall tree that grows throughout the coastal plains on well-drained sandy soils. The tree can reach heights of over 100 feet, has few or no lower branches, is protected by thick bark with a distinct pattern, and has very long needles.
