From the stormy coast of the Atlantic to the highest mountain in the Appalachian range, North Carolina stretches 500 miles east to west.  It is the tenth largest state in population, yet it has no large cities, and most of its people live in or near small towns.  In recent years, the population grew rapidly as people moved there to enjoy its moderate climate and economic opportunity.

North Carolina was one of the original 13 states.  During the Civil War, thousands of its men died for the Confederate cause.  In 1903, the Wright Brothers chose its windy beach at Kitty Hawk to test their first airplane.  For much of its history, North Carolina was an agricultural state.  It is still the largest producer of tobacco.  But its largest business is textile production.   In the 1980s major electronics firms locates offices in the Research Triangle between Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh.

Each year, millions of vacationers visit North Carolina’s Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which covers a huge area in the far western corner of the state.  Cape Hatteras National Seashore is also a major attraction.  It preserves a wild stretch of the Atlantic coastline where pirates once lurked.

No one is sure why North Carolinians are known as Tarheels.   Perhaps it is because their soldiers in the Civil War “stuck” during battle and would not retreat.