North Carolina played a critical, often overlooked, role in our nation’s founding. We at the North Carolina History Project have put together this timeline of our state’s contributions to the American Revolution. The following timeline chronologically lays out some of the most important events in North Carolina’s revolutionary history and links out to our more...
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...
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.
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.
The subject of Scottish folklore and myth, Flora MacDonald assisted Prince Charles Stuart in his escape from King George II. In 1774, she moved to North Carolina, where her Loyalist husband and son fought in the Battle of Moores Creek.
The Edenton Tea Party was one of the earliest organized women’s political actions in United States history. On October 25, 1774, Mrs. Penelope Barker organized, at the home of Mrs. Elizabeth King, fifty-one women in Edenton, North Carolina. Together they formed an alliance wholeheartedly supporting the American cause against “taxation without representation.”
St. Thomas Episcopal Church
Established in 1734, St. Thomas Episcopal Church is North Carolina’s oldest surviving church. The church is located in the town of Bath.
Third Provincial Convention (1775)
Although North Carolina’s royal governor, Josiah Martin, called the convention illegal, colonists ignored his claim and assembled in New Bern. There, the convention pledged to support the resolutions adopted by the First Continental Congress.
Merchants Committees of Inspection
The Sons of Liberty in North Carolina established six Merchants Committees of Inspection in the colony. Each chapter denounced non-complying merchants and eventually ensured the boycott of English goods. In the end, the committees guaranteed that a stronger anti-tax message traveled across the Atlantic Ocean.
P&P Chair Company
An Asheboro furniture plant, P&P Chair Company, manufactured the world famous Carolina Rocker (later known during the 1960s as the Kennedy Rocker ).
Carolina Rocker
President John F. Kennedy's used this rocker, and in the end, boosted this Asheboro product into the global spotlight.
Pisgah Covered Bridge
Pisgah Covered Bridge is the only remaining covered bridge in Randolph County and one of only two remaining covered bridges in North Carolina.
Trinity College (Predecessor to Duke University)
Formerly known as Brown's School, Union Institute, and Normal College, Trinity College was located in Randolph County and struggled financially until the wealthy Duke family started making donations and the instiitution moved to Durham in 1892.
Luck’s Incorporated
During the mid-twentieth century manufacturing jobs started providing the majority of employment for North Carolinians. Luck's Incorporated, a Seagrove-based company, produced approximately twenty four meat and vegetable products that were distributed across the Southeast.
Federal Paper Board Company
Some historians have criticized the paper and pulp companies of southeastern North Carolina for threatening the local environment. Environmentalists have been especially concerned with the effect of the paper and pulp industry in the area known as the Green Swamp located east of Columbus in Brunswick County. However, some paper and pulp companies have been actively involved in preserving the environment that they have used for profit.
George Washington Carver College
When North Carolina’s manufacturing sector started growing rapidly during the mid-twentieth century, African American students lacked educational opportunities to become marketable in the modern workforce. To meet this demand, C. A. Barrett in 1948 started George Washington Carver College in Asheboro.
Jefferson Davis Bulla
During his long life (almost 103 years), Dr. Jefferson Davis Bulla practiced medicine for 77 years and refused to turn away patients who had not the means to pay for services.
Concessions and Agreement (1665)
Before the Fundamental Constitutions was penned, this 1665 document permitted freedom of religion in the colony. It also provided order in a disruptive settlement.