North Carolina Timeline History

1st Maryland Regiment holding the line at the Battle of Guilford.

1540: The Hernando De Soto expedition explores the area

1584: Sir Walter Raleigh sends two ships to scout the area

1585: The first English colony in North America is established on Roanoke Island, but the settlement failed

1587: More ships and settlers arrive on the island, but the settlement is abandoned, with no trace of survivors

1658: The settlement at Edenton was built

1663: King Charles II grants the Carolina lands to eight Lord Proprietors close loyalists:

1677: The short-lived "Culpeper's Rebellion" began, and was the first of its type attempted by the colonists

1718: The pirate Blackbeard was killed along the coast

1729: The King bought out the Lord Proprietors, and the land was now under royal jurisdiction

1776: North Carolina is the first colony to officially decide to vote for independence

1779: British forces, led by Lord Cornwallis, captured Charlotte during the Revolutionary War

1789: North Carolina becomes the 12th U.S. State

1861: Shortly after the Civil War began, North Carolina secedes from the Union, and joins the confederacy

1865: After suffering significant losses, the Confederate army laid down its arms

1868: North Carolina rejoins the Union

1870s: A long period of reconstruction began across the state

1884: The state takes the lead in overall cigarette production

1900: The economy is thriving, with cotton mills and furniture manufacturing leading the way

1903: Orville and Wilbur Wright fly a powered airplane at Kitty Hawk

1945: Fontana Dam is operational

1954: Hurricane Hazel strikes the state, causing significant damage, with losses in the millions of dollars

1960: The now famous sit-in of four black students at a lunch counter in Greensboro leads to statewide demonstrations

1994: The Raleigh-Durham area is voted the best place to live in the United States

1996: Hurricane Fran causes billions of dollars in damage across the state