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...
The Episcopal Church of St. John in the Wilderness
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.
Lee Smith (1944 – )
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.
Carl Sandburg (1878 – 1967)
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...
Salem
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.
Cleaning Up the Tar-Pamlico River Basin
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.
Howard W. Odum
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...
Second-to-the-Last in Freedom (for Women)
In 1971 the North Carolina legislature ratified an amendment to the U.S. Constitution giving equal voting rights to women. Not the Equal Rights Amendment! The Nineteenth Amendment of 1920.
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Since 1951, Southeastern Baptist Seminary in Wake Forest has been a leader in the cultural and theological changes within Baptist churches, especially those affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Baptists in the United States formed the General Missionary Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States of America for Foreign Missions in 1814. Also...
Rosenwald Schools
North Carolina once had about 800 Rosenwald schools. These schools, made possible by Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears & Co., taught African American children in the early 1900s, when public schools in the South were segregated and poorly funded.[1] However, today these schools are little known to the public. In 1915, North Carolina’s first Rosenwald...
Historic Preservation: “George Washington Slept Here”
Beginning in 1887, North Carolinians began seriously preserving the state’s historical buildings. One popular focus was buildings in which George Washington either “slept here” (to use a popular and overused cliché) or with which he had genuine connections. In 1791, George Washington, then president, took a tour of the southern states, and, as a result,...
Elizabeth City State University
Located in Pasquotank County, Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) was formed in 1891 as a school to teach African-American educators.
University of Mount Olive
The University of Mount Olive opened its doors in 1952, after the Convention of Original Free Will Baptists approved the founding of a junior college named Allen Junior College.