State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Railroads
A five-part article on the history of the railroad in North Carolina. Looks at the first rail companies and the start of the North Carolina Railroad, how the Civil War and its aftermath affected rail transportation, the growth of...
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Forests
Forests have played a vital role in virtually all aspects of North Carolina's environmental health and economic development. The first European settlers in the region that would become North Carolina found the majority of the landscape...
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: History of Transportation
An overview of the history of transportation in North Carolina, by water, road, and air, up to the twentieth century.
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Improvements in Transportation: Post American Revolution to Civil War
From the earliest days of European exploration, the land and waterways seemed to do their best to frustrate growth and movement in what was to become North Carolina. In its natural condition, the area was just not an easy place to get...
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Pickens, Israel
This encyclopedia article, taken from the Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, details the political history of Israel Pickens, who played important roles in the early political development of both North Carolina and Alabama.
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Josephus Daniels
Read this detailed biography of Daniels, who is known for serving as Secretary of the Navy under Wilson's administration.
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: State Library of North Carolina
Online encyclopedia includes information about the history, geography, communities, symbols, people, and government of North Carolina.
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: First English Colonies: Roanoke Island
A comprehensive resource dealing with the first and second attempts to found a colony at Roanoke, its mysterious end, and the people involved. From the State Library of North Carolina.
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: 1835 Constitutional Convention
Reforming the state's constitution was one of the most important and hotly debated political issues in antebellum North Carolina. The state's constitution of 1776, which remained largely unchanged until the convention of 1835, had...
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Canals
Since the eighteenth century, canals and canal building have been an important part of Tidewater, North Carolina history. It was seen as the state's best hope for overcoming natural barriers to coastal navigation and mercantile trade....
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Colonial Period Overview
The first permanent English settlers in North Carolina emigrated from the tidewater area of southeastern Virginia. The first of these "overflow" settlers moved into the area of the Albemarle Sound in northeast North Carolina around 1650....
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Legislative Branch
Referred to as the North Carolina General Assembly, the legislative branch is run similarly to the federal government. Check out this brief resource for details about the state legislative system.
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Stephen R. Claggett: Native American Settlement of North Carolina
The English began exploring and settling into the Carolina Colony in the late 1500-early 1600s. The land was already inhabited by Native American tribes. How did they all get along? Who were the Native Americans on the land?
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: John W. Kinchelo, Iii: American Indians at European Contact
Native Americans inhabited the New World long before European explorers began establishing settlements on the land. This entry addresses the challenges the natives had to face upon Europe's arrival, trials in relationships, and how...
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Michelle Czaikowski Underhill: State Symbols
From the State Dog to the State Beverage to the State Vegetable, browse the varied list of official North Carolina symbols and emblems. This list is updated as new state symbols are added.
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Lords Proprietors
King Charles II ordered ownership of the Carolina Colony be divided among eight Englishmen who became known as the Lords Proprietor. Read a brief summary of who these men were.
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: John W. Shirley: Sir Ralph Lane
Lane is best known for being sent to the New World on a mission to establish a settlement on Roanoke Island, by order of Sir Walter Raleigh. Discover how successful his expedition was and other biographical data about the explorer.
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Lindley S. Butler: Carolina
A concise summary of the establishment of the Carolina colony in 1663.
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Scottish Settlers
Read about the history of Scottish settlers in North Carolina, who have been there since the beginning of permanent settlement.
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Immigration
Read about how immigration was the means by which North Carolina came into existence, steadily grew through decades of changing population trends and expansion, and ultimately emerged as an ethnically diverse modern state in the early...
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Moravians
Read about the history of the Moravians, who are members of a church - officially called the Unitas Fratrum, or Unity of Brethren - that, by the time of their arrival in North Carolina in the middle of the eighteenth century, had already...
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Robert J. Cain: Carolina Charters 1663 1665
A review and images of the Carolina Charters documented in 1663 and another in 1665.
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Steamboats
In North Carolina, the concept of travel by steamboat was first introduced in 1815, when Archibald D. Murphey chaired a legislative committee on inland navigation. The first steamboat entered the state in 1818 when the New Bern Steamboat...
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Roads
Roads made of several different materials have been common in North Carolina during various eras of its history, for example, corduroy roads, plank roads, Macadam roads, and clay roads. Read more about the interesting history of North...