As a Fayetteville native and a North Carolina resident all my life, I have been interested in and have absorbed a fair amount of information about our community and our state. Even as a young child, I believed my destiny was to solve the mystery of what happened to the Lost Colony and baby Virginia Dare. No luck so far, and I may have to leave that puzzle to another historical sleuth.
Millions of Americans have passed through our community with the military, and many are here now. So, for them, and for the natives, here are some North Carolina facts that say a lot about from whence we have come and where we are now.
Historically, we are a national force and always have been.
Joining the tribal peoples in what became North Carolina were first English settlers, the first being the Lost Colony along the Outer Banks in the 1590s. Later came Europeans, with Germans and others settling in the Piedmont region. We were the first state to vote for independence from England, the 12th state to join the 13 states that became the United States, and the last state to secede to form the Confederacy. Our nation’s first state university, now known as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was chartered here. Today, we are the 9th most populous state with 11M residents and the 28th largest state in area. Our own Fort Bragg is the nation’s largest military base and believed to be the largest
in the world.
Today, our strong suits are science and technology, although increasingly industrialized agriculture remains a major force. We are blessed with both mountains and an ocean coastline, which generated our former license plate slogan, “Variety Vacationland.” According to the financial website SmartAsset, we are decidedly middle class with incomes between $47,000 and $147,000. We are the sweet potato capital of the universe and have more poultry and pigs than people. We love our college sports and have rivalries that go back generations.
We take our food seriously and are known around the world for our barbeque (a noun, not a verb), which comes in two versions. Eastern barbeque boasts a vinegar-based sauce, while western barbeque comes with a tomato sauce. Both Pepsi and Cheerwine were invented in North Carolina. And, sadly, while we take our pimento cheese seriously—some call it “southern caviar,” it was invented in New York. We don’t advertise that, of course.
Cumberland County is no slouch in the history department either. Early on, Fayetteville was briefly the state capital. Legend has it that the Wake County legislative delegation plied the Cumberland County delegation with drink the night before the vote to locate the capital. Supposedly, a local legislator missed the vote the following day, and the rest is Raleigh history. North Carolina’s first elected Governor died in Cool Spring Tavern in downtown Fayetteville. Our city was named for the French general, the Marquis de Lafayette, as were about 150 places around the nation. Our Fayetteville is the only one he visited himself. The Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry has been marching since 1793. More recently, Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run downtown, Fayetteville resident Don Clayton invented Putt Putt golf, and Army brat turned Grammy-winning rapper, J Cole, is enjoying a successful musical career.
Like one of North Carolina’s famous sons, James Taylor from Chapel Hill, Carolina is always “in my mind.” I suspect that is true for many of those who have passed this way as well.
We leave a little tar on everyone’s heels.