North Carolina, one of the thirteen original colonies, lies in the Southeastern area of the United States between the parallels of 34 degrees and 36½ degrees north latitude, and between the meridians 75½ degrees and 84½ degrees west longitude. Bounded on the north by Virginia, and on the south by South Carolina and Georgia, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean on the east to Tennessee on the west.

North Carolina has an area of 52,286 square miles, of which 48,666 is land and 3,620 is water. The extreme length of the State is 503½ miles, while the average breadth is 100 miles and extreme breadth 187½ miles. Its topography is similar to a great inclined plain sloping down from an altitude of over 6000 feet to the level of the Atlantic Ocean. In descending from the Smoky Mountains, the highest part of the Appalachian chain, to the Atlantic, three broad plains or terraces are crossed. The first of these, the Western or Mountain Section, is a high mountain plateau which suddenly drops a distance of about 1500 feet, to the second level. This is known as the Middle Section or Piedmont Plateau, while the Low Country, or Coastal Plain, is some 200 feet lower. The area from the head of the tides downward, is known as the Tidewater Section.

North Carolina lies on the same parallel of latitude as the central Mediterranean basin, the most favored climatic region on the globe. While this position in the warm temperate zone determines the chief climatic features of the State, these are modified by various causes. The influence of elevation in the Western Section predominates. While Mt. Mitchell, the highest point east of the Rockies, is 6,711 feet, the average height of this area is 4000 feet. In this area where the winters are more severe and the summers cooler than in the Piedmont area, the dryness of the air makes the climate more salubrious. The Blue Ridge protects the area from the bitterly cold winds of the northwest, giving an average annual mean temperature of 55 degrees. In this area there are many valleys whose winter climate is as mild as that of the Piedmont where snow is seldom seen. Eastern Carolina feels the effect of the presence of the sea which tends to lessen both the diurnal and seasonal changes of temperature and to increase the amount of precipitation. Although the Gulf Stream is not near enough to greatly affect it, the climate is semi-tropical and is very enjoyable both winter and summer. Between these two sections of the State every variation of climate may be found, suitable to any taste. Snowfall in the State is very light and seldom remains on the ground more than two or three days.

North Carolina is inseparably connected with Sir Walter Raleigh and the beginning of the English settlement in America. The first colony landed here on July 26, 1585 but no permanent settlement was effected until about 1663. North Carolina has always been active in the affairs of the country. The Battle of Alamance, May 16, 1771, was the first battle of the Revolution while the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, May 20, 1775, preceded the national declaration of 1776. The Battle of Kings Mountain was fought on the border between this State and South Carolina, while the Battle of Guilford Court House was the forerunner of Cornwallis' defeat at Yorktown. Although next to the last State to secede, North Carolina furnished one-fifth of the Confederate army and lost more men than any other Southern State. The State was just recovering from this blow when the World War began, but once again she did her part. North Carolina gave $3,000,000 for work among the soldiers, bought more than $30,000,000 of Liberty Bonds and War Savings Stamps and furnished 92,510 men for the service. One North Carolina division, the 30th, broke the Hindenburg line in the most famous battle of the war while the State furnished the Secretary of the Navy, Josephus Daniels, and the Ambassador to England, Walter Hines Page. Today North Carolina is in the midst of the greatest period of development and prosperity she has ever known.

The Government of North Carolina, like that of the United States, and all the other States, is a constitutional democracy. While the Federal Government is one of granted powers, having only such powers as are given in the Federal Constitution, the State has all the essential powers of government to be exercised by the people through their representatives, except such power as may be limited by the Federal or the State Constitution.

The cost of Government in this State in 1922 totaled $25,364,112, or a per capita cost of $9.58. The 1918 per capita cost was only $2.19. This increase is due to the fact that this State has broken away from the old idea prevalent among the Southern States that the State was merely a Big Policeman. North Carolina's present rate pays for the new educational system, highways, public buildings and permanent improvements and is still below the average for the United States and only ranks thirty-third. Considering the benefits derived, the cost of Government is very low.

North Carolina is made up of people of a singularly homogeneous character. It was originally settled by Virginians, mainly English; Pennsylvanians, Scotch-Irish, Scotch-Highlanders and Lowlanders, Swiss, French Hugenots and Germans. The fusing of these elements of Anglo-Saxon, Celt and Norman have given the vision and aggressiveness of the English, the conservation and acumen of the Scot, and the industry and steadfastness of purpose of the Teuton, which are creating a State destined to be one of the marvels of modern civilization. There are over 2,500,000 of this people in the State. North Carolina has practically no foreigners within its borders. According to the latest figures available (1922), North Carolina had the highest birth rate of any State, with 30 births for each 1000 population.

With the advent of good roads came an awakening in the interest of education and the whole State is now awake to the needs of new equipment and trained teachers for every department. Over $15,000,000 in bonds has recently been voted by various counties to provide schools. In 1921 the State provided a loan fund of $5,000,000 to aid county boards in building schoolhouses. As a result of this new interest in education there is now at least one accredited High School in each of the 100 counties of the State and illiteracy in the State has decreased from 29.4 per cent in 1900 to 13.1 per cent in 1920 (both races). The scale of salaries whereby a teacher can increase her income by raising the class of her certificate has greatly aided the system. Of 17,000 teachers in 1921 over 12,000 were enrolled in summer schools, taking special work. Rapid strides are now being made along educational lines, both in grammar and high schools and in the colleges and universities. North Carolina leads the South in education.

In point of actual service, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is the oldest State University in America, having been founded in 1789. The 600-acre grounds, 35 buildings, endowment and equipment, are valued at $4,250,300. Over 2800 students are enrolled annually. There are 10 other State institutions for white, and 5 for colored, while there are 26 colleges for whites and 30 universities, colleges and schools for colored. (Editor's note—The College Section will be found on pages 8 and 9).

North Carolina's wealth has tripled in a decade, according to the census report of the period from 1912 to 1922. This wealth totaled $4,543,110,000, or an increase of 175 per cent. The per capita wealth was $1,703, or an increase of 135.2 per cent. The estimated value of all real property and improvements increased from $637,860,000 to $2,209,432,000 or 216 per cent. Only four States and the Philippine Islands showed an increase in total payments of revenue in 1923. New Hampshire came first with 37 per cent while North Carolina came second with 15 per cent, having paid a total of $140,347,366, thus leading the whole South and being the only Southern State showing an increase. The State ranks fifth in Federal Income Tax payments. Total banking resources are: (1921) $386,046,574. There are 160,000 motor cars in the State representing an expenditure of $175,000,000.

North Carolina's rivers, not including innumerable small rivers and creeks, are over 3,300 miles long with a total fall of 33,000 feet, or an average of ten feet to the mile. The total waterpower furnished the State by these streams is estimated at 3,370,000. That furnished by the Roanoke River within the State is 70,000, of the Yadkin 255,000, giving a capacity to turn 7,360,000 spindles; for Deep, Haw and Cape Fear Rivers an aggregate of 130,000 horsepower with power to turn 5,200,000 spindles, or a grand total of 600,000 horsepower for the rivers named, ascertained by actual measurements. The State now produces over 2,000,000 kilowatt hours daily, being excelled by only one State east of the Mississippi—New York State. The greatest electric power development in the country is centered here in the Piedmont area. The Southern Power Company whose ten plants on the Catawba operate over 800 miles is a Charlotte concern and has made and is still making extensive developments in the State. The Tallassee Power Company of Badin with a huge plant there is now planning a large reservoir above the Badin dam while numerous other developments throughout the State are under way.

North Carolina's manufactured products in 1919 had a value of nearly a billion dollars, $943,808,000 to be exact, and this does not include domestic industries not organized into factory systems. Only fourteen States made a better showing, while Texas was the only Southern State ahead of North Carolina. North Carolina has 5,999 mills employing 157,659 wage-earners receiving $126,753,000 yearly. The capital employed is $669,144,000, while the value of manufactured products is $943,808,000. North Carolina led the South in 1919 in the number of factory establishments with 5,999 as against 5,603 for Virginia, her nearest competitor. In the number of wage and salary earners she led Georgia, her nearest competitor, by 34,000. In the amount of capital employed she led Texas by more than 100 million and Virginia by 230 million dollars. In the total value of manufactured products Texas was the only Southern State which outranked North Carolina, and her lead was only 57 million dollars. Georgia, the next in line, fell behind by 250 million dollars. In the value added to raw material by manufacturing, North Carolina greatly out-distanced the whole South—with 417 million dollars as against 298 million for Texas, 269 million for Virginia and 253 million for Georgia. But in percentage of value added by manufacture, North Carolina led the whole United States with the exception of Wyoming. The value by manufacture in North Carolina was 249 per cent. The closest Southern State in this regard was South Carolina with 220 per cent. Thus it is seen that North Carolina has a clear lead in the South in manufacturing industries.

North Carolina leads the world in tobacco manufacture and the thirty-three tobacco factories of the State consume a fourth of all the leaf tobacco used in manufacture in the entire United States, and pay a full fourth of all the tobacco taxes of the Union. Only Kentucky is ahead of North Carolina as a tobacco growing State. North Carolina leads the South in the cotton textile industry in almost every detail—in the number of mills, the number of spindles and knitting machines, in the number of looms installed year by year, in number of operatives, amount of capital employed, the volume of wages, in variety of cotton textiles produced, in the total value of products and in the value added by manufacture of raw materials. The State's mills use a half million more bales than the State produces in average years. There are now 513 cotton mills in the State as against 180 in South Carolina and 173 in Georgia. North Carolina has more mills that dye and finish their own products than any other Southern State. In North Carolina are the largest towel mills in the world, the largest hosiery mills in the world, the largest denim mills in the United States, the largest damask mills in the United States, the largest underwear mills in America, while Gaston County with 100 mills is the fine combed yarn center of the South. North Carolina also leads the South in number of furniture factories, variety of products, total value of products, amount of capital invested, and number of operatives. (Editor's note—A complete list of the plants in the State which lead the world, the United States or the South in their line is given on page 147).

North Carolina lays great stress on horticulture. The wide range and high quality of fruits grown in this State were shown at the National Horticultural Congress, Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 1910, when the Sweepstakes trophy for the best general collection of fruit in the United States was won by North Carolina against the keenest competition. Thirty-three States, from all over the Country were competing. With its wonderful and varied climate, long growing seasons, highly adaptable soils, North Carolina seems to become to the East what California is to the West. Cheap lands and nearness to the markets of the East and South make horticulture development here an alluring opportunity.

The apple, with an annual production of 6,000,000 bushels, is the leader and always commands prizes at expositions because of its quality. Peaches rank next while other fruits include strawberries, grapes, dewberries, figs, pecans, pears, cherries, quinces, plums, cranberries, raspberries and blackberries. No State in the Union offers a broader or more complete field from a trucking standpoint than North Carolina. Among the truck crops that bring large returns are: Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, lettuce, cabbage, onions, watermelons, cantaloupes, cucumbers, string beans or snaps, English peas, cauliflower, beets, celery, asparagus, egg plant and spinach.

North Carolina is noted for the great variety of its minerals and continual discovery of new deposits in commercial quantities has made it one of the foremost fields for prospecting. As demand has increased many of these, thought to be rare, have been found in great amounts. Both zircon and monazite are mined by the ton here for incandescent light manufacturing companies, and Samarskite by the hundred weight for use in chemical research. Besides containing a little of over 219 species many of these are now found in commercial quantities.

North Carolina made a beginning at real highway construction in 1919 hen the automobile license fees were increased to raise funds to meet the terms of receiving Federal Aid, but a more progressive program was passed by the 1921 Legislature when a system of 5,500 miles of hard-surfaced roads leading to all county seats was provided for, to be paid for by a bond issue of $50,000,000, by license fees and a tax of one cent a gallon on gasoline. At present over 1,350 miles of highways are under construction estimated to cost $22,300,000. Of this mileage 446 miles are being hard-surfaced, while the remainder will be temporarily top-soiled and hard-surfaced later. This system has pushed the State to the forefront as a leader in highway construction. All roads of the State system are built and maintained by the State as a whole, thus shifting the burden from the county, city and town to the whole State. Many beautiful concrete bridges are being built, the most notable of which has been recently completed. This is the Williamston drawbridge over Roanoke River. This bridge and a concrete causeway through the swamp is 3.9 miles long and is considered the longest highway bridge in the Country. The distance between Windsor and Williamston has been shortened from 140 miles to 17 miles by this bridge. North Carolina highways have proved their worth already by stimulating every line of endeavor in the State.

North Carolina has a shore line of only about 300 miles but if the sounds, estuaries and other indentations are followed, a coast line of nearly 1500 miles is revealed and along the entire length almost, commercial fishing is a lucrative employment. Fifty-five kinds of fish, both salt and fresh water, abound in these waters and are shipped to all the leading markets of the South and East. The leading shipping centers are Currituck, Elizabeth City, Edenton, Manteo, Washington, Morehead City, Beaufort, New Bern and Wilmington.

North Carolina's leading ports are: Wilmington, the largest, Southport, Morehead City, Beaufort, New Bern, Washington, Edenton, and Elizabeth City. The Southern end of the Inland Waterway is at Morehead City, the northern end at New York City. This waterway, which is separated from the ocean by a narrow reef of land along the North Carolina Coast, enables boats to sail the placid waters of the numerous sounds protected from the tumultous ocean waves outside. Moreahed City, Beaufort, Washington, Edenton and Elizabeth City are connected with this Inland Waterway, The Harbor of Refuge, the finest natural harbor on the American Coast, is located at Cape Lookout just outside the southern end of the Inland Waterway. The State is drained by several large river systems which run out of the State in all directions eventually reaching both the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Among these rivers are the Hiawassee, Tennessee, Pidgeon, French Broad, Broad, Nolechucky, Linville, New, Catawba, Yadkin, Pee Dee, Cape Fear, Lumber, Tar, Dan, Neuse, Haw, Deep, Waccanaw, Chowan, Perquimans, Little, Pasquotank and Roanoke Rivers.

The State is well served by railways, having three large trunk systems crossing it from the North to the South—the Southern, Seaboard Air Line and Atlantic Coast Line. Two trunk lines, the Southern and the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railways, cross the Blue Ridge within its borders, connecting the Middle West with the Southeast. Numerous long and short lines connect all parts of the State with these major routes. The Norfolk Southern, serving Eastern Carolina, is one of the important systems. A more complete idea of the value of these railways to the State may be gained from the sketches in this volume.

North Carolina is favored in the beauty and variety of its scenery as are few other States. Mt. Mitchell, the highest peak in the East—6,711 feet high—overlooks 64 peaks over 6000 feet and several a mile high. This area is dotted with many beautiful lakes, while a dozen rivers wind their way through the mountains to the plains beyond, and in descending make numerous beautiful waterfalls. Even the Piedmont Plateau holds its charming spots such as Hanging Rock, Morrow Mountain, and its broad, rolling plains of fertile fields; while the horizon is streaked with the smoke of busy factories. Through the rich farms of Eastern Carolina the wide, sluggish rivers crawl slowly down to the broad expanse of sound and bay. No wonder North Carolina draws tourists from all over the United States, having scenery of a dozen States rolled into one, the roads to reach it and the climate to enjoy it.

North Carolina's excellent all-year climate naturally makes her a state of resorts, both winter and summer. Asheville and Hendersonville both draw a large all-year tourist population while dozens of places such as Waynesville, Lake Junaluska, Black Mountain and Ridgecrest, are visited every summer by thousands of tourists from all over the East and South. The Piedmont Plateau, with Hanging Rock, Cleveland Springs, Moores Springs, Morrow's Mountain and numerous cities, offers all that could be desired in climate at any season, while Pinehurst, in the Sandhills, is the greatest golf center of the United States. Large modern hotels both at Pinehurst and Southern Pines, are taxed to capacity to accommodate the thousands who winter at these popular resorts. Elizabeth City and Washington offer excellent hunting and fishing to the winter tourist, while Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach are popular seaside resorts in the summer season. Morehead City and Beaufort on the Atlantic are all-year-round resorts offering excellent hunting, fishing and other sports.

North Carolina was originally covered by forests, and today two-thirds of its land area, or 20,000,000 acres, is timber covered. North Carolina is therefore a great lumber State. North Carolina has the greatest number of custom mills of any State and ranks seventh in production of lumber, its value being about $50,000,000 in 1919. In value of wood and timber produced from the farms, North Carolina leads all other States, with a total value of $32,735,000. The State ranks eighth in manufacture of veneers, third in raw products consumed in manufacture of dyestuffs and extracts, and fourth place in production of tanbark wood.

Altogether there are 153 kinds of woody plants, and of these over 70 are trees of the first size and 57 are of great economic value. Of these 14 attain in this State a height of over 100 feet, while 3 of them reach a height of over 140 feet. A few of these are found only in this State or extend but a short distance beyond. These are: The yellow-wood, the large-leafed umbrella, the Carolina Hemlock and the Clammy Locust.

A large area of forests has been recently set aside by the United States Government and is known as the Pisgah National Park or Forest Reserve—being located around Mt. Pisgah.

North Carolina offers more opportunity today than any State in the Union. Its climate is the best all-year-round of any State east of the Mississippi, its lands grow practically any crop, its 6000 manufacturing plants produce nearly everything used in daily life, its roads are new and the best in the South, its schools as good as can be found, its natural resources the most varied in the United States, its native population provides efficient labor, and its proximity to the leading markets assures a ready disposal of crops. These help to make North Carolina the land of opportunity. The above paragraphs have presented facts that by these facts may be gained a small idea of the past and present accomplishments of the people of this State, thus showing the possibility of greater future development.