NC History & Facts
North Carolina Firsts
By North Carolina Department of Commerce, Division of Tourism
Jun 28, 2006, 02:36 PST

North Carolina was first in the nation for the following events:

• First English child born in America – Virginia Dare was born on Roanoke Island on August 18, 1587
  
  
• First state university in the United States – University of North Carolina opened in 1795 in Chapel Hill
  
  
• First gold nugget found in the United States – Reed Gold Mine in Cabarrus County in 1799
  
  
• First interstate railroad – opened in 1833 between Blakely (Northampton County) and Petersburg, Virginia
  
  
• First operating silver mine in the United States – opened in 1838 near Lexington
  
  
• First mint in the United States to coin a gold dollar – Bechtler Mint in Rutherford County
  
  
• First forestry school in the United States – opened in 1898 near Mount Pisgah
  
  
• First structure for which United States Congress appropriated money – Old Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
  
  
• First successful powered airplane flight – 1903 by the Wright Brothers, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk
  
  
• First state to establish a soil and water conservation district – 1937
  
  
  

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