North Carolina Trivia & Tidbits - Page 3

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

—The world’s best bricklayer is Garrett Hood, a mason for McGee Brothers Co. in Monroe (pop. 26,228), who laid 791 bricks in 60 minutes to win the Spec Mix Bricklayer 500 National bricklaying competition in January in Las Vegas. Hood won a 2008 Ford truck, $5,000 and other prizes for his feat.

first appeared: 6/15/2008

—The dome in the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Asheville has a clear span measuring 58 feet by 82 feet, and is believed to be the largest freestanding elliptical dome in North America

first appeared: 6/1/2008

—Rameses, a live ram, is the football team’s mascot at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill (pop. 48,715). The ram was chosen to represent the team in 1924 to honor popular fullback Jack Merritt, who was nicknamed the “battering ram.”

first appeared: 5/18/2008

—The nation’s largest privately owned department store company is Belk Inc., based in Charlotte, with more than 300 stores in 16 Southern states. Belk was founded in 1888 by William Henry Belk in Monroe (pop. 26,228) and continues to operate under the third generation of Belk family leadership.

first appeared: 5/4/2008

—The highest point along the Blue Ridge Parkway is Richland Balsam Overlook, elevation 6,047 feet, near Waynesville (pop. 9,232) on the 469-mile scenic mountain drive from Rockfish Gap, Va., to Cherokee (pop. 24,298).

first appeared: 3/9/2008

—For three consecutive years, Site Selection magazine has ranked the state No. 1 for “best business climate.” Rankings are based in part on a survey of corporate site-selection executives and new plant activity. North Carolina was followed on the 2007 list by Georgia, Texas, Virginia, Alabama and Tennessee.

first appeared: 2/24/2008

—Reed Gold Mine in Stanfield (pop. 1,113) is the restored site of the first documented gold find in the United States. In 1799, John Reed’s son found a 17-pound yellow rock on the family farm, which was used as a doorstop for three years until a jeweler identified it as gold. Reed began mining operations in 1803.

first appeared: 2/10/2008

—Built in 2001, Blue Ridge Motion Pictures in Asheville is a full production movie studio that serves the television, film and recording industries and includes a filmmaking school, the Blue Ridge Motion Pictures Film Institute.

first appeared: 1/27/2008

—Opened in 1929, Priddy’s General Store in Danbury (pop. 108) is operated by a third generation of the Priddy family and offers an assortment of merchandise, including old-fashioned candy, flat irons and overalls, and periodic live bluegrass music.

first appeared: 1/13/2008

—Country singer Don Gibson (1928-2003), born in Shelby (pop. 19,477), wrote two of his top hits, “Oh Lonesome Me” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” on the same day in 1957. “I Can’t Stop Loving You” was recorded by numerous artists, including Ray Charles and Count Basie.

first appeared: 12/30/2007

—The first school chartered in the state was New Bern Academy in 1766 in New Bern (pop. 23,128). Fire destroyed the original building; the current school, built between 1806 and 1809, now houses a museum.

first appeared: 12/2/2007

—The first forestry school in the nation was the Biltmore Forest School in Transylvania County (pop. 29,334), founded in 1898 by Dr. Carl Schenck, chief forester for George Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate. Some of the school buildings remain at the Cradle of Forestry, a national historic site.

first appeared: 11/18/2007

—At 13, Anthony Aldrich II of Charlotte sold $19,458 worth of popcorn for the Mecklenburg County Council of the Boy Scouts of America last year and was the organization’s top popcorn salesman.

first appeared: 11/4/2007

—Kannapolis (pop. 36,910) is a Greek word meaning “City of Looms” and was founded in the early 1900s by James William Cannon for textile workers for Cannon Mills.

first appeared: 10/21/2007

—Musicians who play traditional southern Appalachian bluegrass and Celtic music teach schoolchildren how to play the music through the Junior Appalachian Music (JAM) program, founded seven years ago at Sparta (pop. 1,817) Elementary School. At least nine other elementary schools have started JAM sessions.

first appeared: 10/7/2007

—Ocracoke (pop. 769) Lifeguard Beach was named the nation’s No. 1 beach in the 2007 America’s Best Beaches ranking by Stephen “Dr. Beach” Leatherman. The Florida International University professor and beach expert rates beaches using 50 criteria, including quality of water and sand.

first appeared: 9/30/2007

—Since the 1750s, Yates Mill has stood on its foundation despite floods, hurricanes and war. The restored and working gristmill is the centerpiece of Historic Yates Mill County Park near Raleigh.

first appeared: 9/9/2007

—A 70-year-old slab of blackened pork periodically goes on display at the Mecca Restaurant in Raleigh, continuing a curious tradition begun in 1937 when the owner’s grandfather bought the ham from a farmer. Most of the time, the 25-pound ugly ham stays in the freezer.

first appeared: 8/26/2007

—Established in 1912, the Robeson County Health Department in Lumberton (pop. 20,795) was the first rural health department in the United States.

first appeared: 8/12/2007

—The state’s largest marina is Kings Point on Lake Norman in Cornelius (pop. 11,969), with more than 700 wet and dry berths on a 25-acre site.

first appeared: 7/29/2007

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