The marriage in 1865 of Eleanor Swain, daughter of a former governor and then UNC president David L. Swain, to Union General Smith D. Atkins, was highly controversial and divisive in the town of Chapel Hill.
Peggy Kirk Bell of Southern Pines, a pioneer of the Ladies Professional Golfers Association tours, purchased the Pine Needles Resort in 1953. The Southern Pines course is now one of the top golf resorts in the nation.
The first rebellious act against British rule in the state may have been carried out by nine patriots, known to history as the \"Black Boys of Cabarrus.\" They destroyed Governor William Tryon's munitions train on May 2, 1771, near Concord.
For rafters and canoeists, the western mountains offer beautiful scenery and challenging whitewater or placid stretches of rivers, including the Nantahala, New, and French Broad.
Carolina bay lakes are a unique natural wonder in that they are no deeper than six feet, elliptical, and dependent on rainwater. Among the best known are Lake Phelps, Lake Mattamuskeet, and White Lake.
Born on Christmas Eve, 1922, near Smithfield in Johnston County, Ava Gardner achieved movie stardom in films like ON THE BEACH. The Ava Gardner Museum in Smithfield contains numerous momentoes of her career.
Located at Pine Knoll Shores, Roanoke Island, and Fort Fisher, the state's three public aquariums are observing their 20th anniversary in 1996. In 1995, over 1,000,000 people visited them.
The red wolf has been reintroduced in the state through the Red Wolf Recovery Program. The world's largest free-roaming red wolf population, about sixty, now lives on 500,000 acres in the eastern part of the state.
Badin, in Stanly County, retains the architectural flavor of the French mining company that operated there, beginning in 1913. Its population of 1,500 and small town atmosphere are attractive to retirees and beginning families.
Incorporated in 1870, Mount Olive has neither mountains nor olives. A small commercial center for southern Wayne County, the town is home for the Mt. Olive Pickle Company, the nation's largest independent pickle company.
Train travel offers relaxation, conversation, comfort, and countryside viewing that automobiles cannot. The Piedmont, which runs daily between Raleigh and Charlotte, is rapidly becoming popular with travelers and tourists.
Although reduced in number by franchises and shopping-mall eateries, small-town diners, including BJ's in Polkton and Sherry's Family Style Restaurant in Ramseur, still serve up good food in a friendly atmosphere.
Between 1850 and the early 1930s, popular vacation spots were resorts located near mineral springs, including Jackson Springs in Moore County, Barium Springs in Iredell County, and Rocky River Springs in Stanly County.
There a number of riverboats in the state, including Wilmington's Henrietta II and Beaufort's Crystal Queen, that carry passengers on public cruises and dinner parties. Each vessel provides a unique water experience.
Because of the difficulties of land travel, the steamboat Mountain Lily was a hoped for alternative route on the French Broad River in the early 1880s between Brevard and Asheville. The project failed after four years.