North Carolina
English colonial presence in North Carolina began with the ill-fated Roanoke Colony in 1585, established by Sir Walter Raleigh. The Province of Carolina was formally established in 1663 and split into North and South Carolina in 1712, forming the Province of North Carolina. North Carolina became a royal colony of the British Empire in 1729, and on April 12, 1776, it became the first American colony to formally call for independence via the Halifax Resolves, with full independence declared later that year. On November 21, 1789, North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the United States Constitution.
Pre-contact era
The earliest discovered human settlements in present-day North Carolina are found at the Hardaway Site, dating back to approximately 8000 BCE. From around 1000 BCE until European contact, the Woodland period saw the Mississippian culture flourish. Historically documented tribes included Carolina Algonquian-speaking coastal tribes such as the Chowanoke, Roanoke, and Pamlico, Iroquoian-speaking interior tribes like the Cherokee and Tuscarora, and Southeastern Siouan-speaking tribes such as the Catawba and Cheraw.
Colonial history
The Roanoke Colony was an early and ultimately failed attempt at English colonization; the Province of Carolina was formed in 1629 but became official in 1663.
The Province of Carolina was a colony of the Kingdom of England (1663–1707) and later the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1712); it consisted of all or parts of present-day Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
North Carolina was a proprietary colony until 1729, when it became a royal colony of the British Empire. The monarch of Great Britain was represented by the Governor of North Carolina until the colonies declared independence on July 4, 1776.
Everything a full the United States report reveals
Pick any location and Aubrey pulls together 18 strands of its history, each drawn from the record:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Explore North Carolina records
State history content adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Historic sites data: National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
About North Carolina
Research the history of any US location
Aubrey searches federal archives, archaeological records, historic registers, and primary sources to build a full historical report for any address or place in the United States.