North Carolina Firsts
- The Wright brothers completed the first successful flight of a mechanically propelled airplane over the sands of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903.
- The University of North Carolina was the first public university in the United States to open its doors.
- The first known miniature golf course was in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
- Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run in Fayetteville on March 7, 1914.
- The first English child born in America, Virginia Dare, was born in Roanoke, North Carolina, in 1587.
- Many people believe that North Carolina was the first state to declare independence from England with the Mecklenburg Declaration of 1775.
- Cabarrus County, North Carolina, was the site of America's first gold rush.
- What was probably the first drawbridge built in the United States was built over the Cape Fear River.
- The first state art museum in the country is located in Raleigh.
- The first Pepsi was created and served in New Bern, North Carolina in 1898
- The first outdoor drama in America, The Lost Colony , is staged every year in Manteo, North Carolina.
Biggest/Smallest/Shortest/Tallest
- Mount Mitchell is the tallest mountain in the eastern United States.
- Jockey's Ridge is the tallest natural sand dune system in the Eastern United States. Depending on the weather, its height can range from 80 to 100 feet!
- Whitewater Falls in Transylvania County, one of over 200 waterfalls in North Carolina, is the highest waterfall on the East Coast.
- The Biltmore Estate in Asheville is the largest private house in the world, with 250 rooms.
- Grandfather Mountain is home to the nation's highest swinging bridge-one mile high.
- The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in the United States.
- Albemarle Sound is the largest freshwater sound in the world.
- Fontana Dam is the tallest dam in the Eastern United States, at 480 feet high.
- The world's smallest daily newspaper is the Tryon Daily Bulletin.