- Raleigh is the capital of North Carolina.
- Charlotte is the largest city and the center of
the state's most populous metropolitan region.
- North Carolina's name is derived from the Latin
word Carolinus, meaning 'of Charles'. The state
was named in honor of King Charles I and King
Charles II of England by their friends and
supporters who were establishing colonies in the
southern part of the Virginia colony.
- The state is nicknamed the 'Tar Heel State'.
While time has obscured the source of the name,
some historians believe it refers to one of the
state's major colonial-era products 'tar' which
was derived from slowly burning the stumps of
longleaf pine trees. More commonly accepted is
that the name came about during the Civil War.
Some say the name may have originally been used
derisively, applied to North Carolina soldiers
who could not hold a position against Union
troops because they had forgotten to 'tar their
heels' and thus could not stick to their ground.
- The state, once the northern part of the original
Carolina colony, is also referred to as the 'Old
North State'.
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