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African American

The Episcopal Church of St. John in the Wilderness

1776-1835

St. John in the Wilderness is historically recognized as the first Episcopal parish established in Western North Carolina. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Women

Lee Smith (1944 – )

1916-1945

Smith has earned recognition as one of the most important writers of southern and Appalachian literature. A recipient of many awards, she was inducted into the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame in 2009.

Writers

Carl Sandburg (1878 – 1967)

1866-1915

In the autumn of 1945, a steam engine train rolled into the Flat Rock Depot carrying more than twenty tons of books, manuscripts, furniture, awards, and personal belongings bound for 1928 Little River Road in Henderson County, North Carolina. Around the same time, Carl Sandburg and his wife Lilian made the journey from Michigan by...

Colonial North Carolina

Fort Johnston and the American Revolution

1664-1775

In July 1775, Patriot militiamen carried out the first military operation of the Revolutionary War in what became the Tar Heel State. There was no pitched battle. No one died. But the Patriots made their point: Reasserting British control over North Carolina would be no easy task. Three months earlier, they’d forced Josiah Martin, the...

Colonial North Carolina

Delving into American Revolution Articles in the North Carolina Historical Review

1664-1775

To academic historians and amateur (or avocational) historians: We explored the North Carolina Historical Review to find articles about the American Revolution. I hope these summaries (written by a person, not AI) will whet your appetite for the longer versions. (A link to each article on JSTOR is provided for each.) Did North Carolina’s Revolution...

Colonial North Carolina

Revolution-Era Articles in the North Carolina Historical Review 

1664-1775

The North Carolina Historical Review includes a rich collection of articles about the American Revolution. This list was compiled by Kathryn McKee and Jane Shaw Stroup.

Cities

Salem

1664-1775

A Moravian town formed in 1772, Salem, or Old Salem, was once the center of the Wachovia Tract. Salem's history is rooted in Moravian culture and religion.

Environmental History

Cleaning Up the Tar-Pamlico River Basin

1946-1990

In the 1980s, a group of North Carolina business and government leaders figured out a way to reduce water pollution when the Clean Water Act could not achieve it.

Colleges and Universities

Howard W. Odum

1866-1915

Born in 1884 on a rural farm in Georgia, Howard Washington Odum became a national leader in the study of sociology, primarily through his work at the University of North Carolina (at the time, located only at Chapel Hill). Extensively educated, Odum earned a bachelor’s degree at Emory College (now University), the University of Mississippi...

Women

“Whistler’s Mother,” Anna McNeill Whistler

1776-1835

After the Virgin Mary herself, Anna McNeill Whistler may be one of the most recognizable mothers in all of art history. The Wilmington native is also one of the most famous moms to call North Carolina home.

Revolution Era

Pyle’s Defeat: A Little-Known Rout with Big Consequences

1776-1835

Pyle’s Defeat occurred in February 1781 near the end of the Revolution. It was a savage blow to British hopes, as Lt. Gen. Charles, Lord Cornwallis attempted to stop the Patriots’ momentum.

African American

Richard Etheridge

1836-1865

Richard Etheridge was the first African American to command a lifesaving station in the United States. Lifesaving stations on the Atlantic Coast were responsible for rescuing people from shipwrecks in the late 1800s. Etheridge also fought for the Union in the Civil War and continued to fight for civil rights for the African American community...