North Carolina Trivia & Tidbits - Page 17

Looking for North Carolina trivia? Try our list North Carolina little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

Blowing Rock (pop.1,257), on the Blue Ridge Parkway, was named for a nearby cliff where objects thrown outward are swept back by the wind.

first appeared: 12/10/2000

Linville Caverns, near Marion (pop. 4,765), are the only caverns in North Carolina. The tunnels go 2,000 feet underground, and the year-round temperature inside is 51 degrees.

first appeared: 12/3/2000

Morehead City (pop. 6,046) has been a major port for oceangoing vessels since 1857. It is the world’s largest tobacco-export terminal.

first appeared: 11/26/2000

The first English colony in America, founded by Sir Walter Raleigh, was on Roanoke Island in 1587. The colony mysteriously vanished in 1590 with no trace. The settlement became known as the Lost Colony.

first appeared: 11/19/2000

Located just outside of Asheville in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Biltmore Estate, constructed by George Washington Vanderbilt, is the largest private residence in the United States. It took five years to build the 250-room mansion. Vanderbilt traveled through Europe purchasing paintings, porcelains, bronzes, carpets, and antiques to furnish his house, which he opened to friends for the first time on Christmas Eve in 1895.

first appeared: 11/12/2000

William Rufus DeVane King, born in Sampson County, was the only vice president to take the Oath of Office on foreign soil. King, Franklin Pierce’s running mate, was in Cuba when sworn in, where he had gone on doctor’s orders after being diagnosed with tuberculosis.

first appeared: 11/5/2000

George H. White, born in Rosindale, was the last former slave to serve in the House of Representatives. White represented North Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District, having been elected in 1896 and 1898.

first appeared: 10/22/2000

Andrew Johnson, the 17th president of the United States, was born in Raleigh on Dec. 29, 1808. In 1874, he became the first former president to be elected to the U.S. Senate.

first appeared: 10/8/2000

The first miniature golf course in America, the Lilliputian Golf Course, was built in Pinehurst in 1916.

first appeared: 9/24/2000

At 6,684 feet, Mount Mitchell in western North Carolina is the highest peak east of the Mississippi River.

first appeared: 9/10/2000

Dolley Madison, one of America's most famous First Ladies, was born in Piedmont. The wife of President James Madison, she is known for originating the annual Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn.

first appeared: 8/27/2000

The Plott Hound, adopted as North Carolina’s State Dog in 1989, is the only breed known to have originated in the state, and one of only four breeds known to be of American origin. Developed in the mountains around 1750, the hound is known for its courage, loyalty, and a bugle-like call.

first appeared: 8/13/2000

The first public university in the United States was the University of North Carolina. The state’s General Assembly chartered the school in 1789, with the first class graduating in 1795.

first appeared: 7/30/2000

The infamous pirate Blackbeard’s ship, “The Queen Anne’s Revenge,” was found in waters off the shore of Beaufort in 1996. The ship sank in 1718. Blackbeard, whose real name was Edward Teach, lived in Bath when he wasn’t out pirating.

first appeared: 7/16/2000

CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C., was the site of America?s first documented gold discovery. In 1799, a 12-year-old boy found a 17-pound chunk of the shiny mineral, which he sold for $3.50.

first appeared: 7/2/2000

When determining the North Carolina-South Carolina boundary in 1772, boundary commissioners altered the line to avoid splitting the land occupied by Catawba Indians between the two British colonies. The result was a zigzag just south of Charlotte, N.C.

first appeared: 6/18/2000

In 1995, students at a Wilson County, N.C., school successfully petitioned the state’s General Assembly to establish the sweet potato as the official State Vegetable. North Carolina harvests up to 4 billion pounds of the vegetable per year.

first appeared: 5/21/2000

The World War II Battleship North Carolina is permanently berthed and open for tours in Wilmington, North Carolina. She was saved from the Navy’s scrap heap in the 1960s with citizen donations totaling $330,000, including pocket change from schoolchildren.

first appeared: 5/7/2000

In 1898, pharmacist Caleb Bradham created a delicious and quickly popular fountain drink in the cellar of his New Bern, N.C., drugstore. The beverage was called Brad's Drink, until he re-named it Pepsi-Cola.

first appeared: 4/23/2000

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