North Carolina History Trivia

1. In 1587, John White returned to England for supplies, leaving a fledgling settlement on Roanoke Island in the area now known as the Outer Banks. What did he find when he returned to the New World three years later?

From Quiz First in Flight - North Carolina History

Answer: The settlers had simply vanished

The fate of the settlers of Roanoke Island remains a mystery. The word "Croatoan" was carved into a tree, leading some to believe that the colonists voluntarily abandoned the settlement to join a friendly tribe of Native Americans. Others speculate that the unfortunate folks were either captured and murdered or simply starved to death. One local theory is the possibility that the residents relocated to nearby Cedar Island or that John White simply returned to the wrong area and that the settlers were alive and well a few miles away. The story of the Lost Colony lives on in an outdoor drama that is produced every summer on Roanoke Island.

From Quiz North Carolina History

Answer: Bath

Bath was established in 1705. The first settlers were French Huguenots from Virginia.

From Quiz Outer Banks of North Carolina

Answer: 1830s

In those days, planters from inland counties longed to escape the long, hot and humid summer, which they believed fostered malaria and other diseases. In the 1830s, the first of these plantation owners came to Nags Head and purchased 200 acres of land where he built the very first beach cottage.

From Quiz North Carolina History II

Answer: The Wright Brothers made the first flight in an airplane

The Wright Brothers had selected Kitty Hawk as the site to make their attempt at the first powered flight of a heavier than air aircraft. Though they made a failed attempt on the 14th, forcing them to make repairs to the Flyer, just three days later the Flyer would lift off the ground and fly 120 feet in a mere 12 seconds with Orville at the controls. Wilbur and Orville would then take turns flying the Flyer, each flight going farther than that historic first flight. Wilbur's second and final flight of the day lasted 59 seconds during which he traveled 852 feet.

From Quiz North Carolina History

Answer: The Battle of Alamance

The battle was named for the nearby Great Alamance Creek. Royal governor Tryon would lose nine men with another 61 wounded, the number of wounded and killed on the Regulator's side was much higher. After the battle, Governor Tryon took between twelve and fifteen Regulators prisoner, executing between six and seven of these men.

From Quiz Kings Mountain NC

Answer: Battle of Kings Mountain

The Battle of Kings Mountain which was actually located in York, SC but is named after the nearest major landmark, Kings Mountain.

From Quiz First in Flight II- North Carolina History

Answer: Pepsi

New Bern pharmacist Caleb Bradham created "Brad's Drink" in 1893 and served it at the soda fountain in his drugstore. The popular beverage was renamed a few years later, and in 1902, he created the Pepsi-Cola company with hopes of selling the syrup in other areas. A short time later, he began bottling the soft drink and by 1910, there were franchises in over twenty states. Today, the "Pride of the Carolinas" is available in over two hundred countries and its parent company, PepsiCo, markets worldwide favorites such as Quaker cereals, Frito-Lay products and Gatorade.

From Quiz First in Flight - North Carolina History

Answer: The Communist Workers' Party

Attempts by the CWP to organize area workers led to months of acrimony between the party and the Klan and its allies. On November 3, a rally was interrupted by the arrival of several Klansmen. The subsequent gun battle led to the deaths and the arrests of sixteen participants, all who were later acquitted. A civil lawsuit in 1985 awarded $350,000 to the surviving victims.

From Quiz North Carolina History

Answer: John White

Governor White returned to England for supplies and to report the colony's progress and during this time the colony disappeared. Raleigh's first colony was in 1685-86, the Lost Colony was in 1587. In 1653 some Virginians settled in what is now N.C. and in 1663, King Charles II issued a royal charter to eight nobles to settle in an area south of Virginia and this became known as The Carolinas. Later due to disputes, North and South Carolina were divided 1729.

From Quiz Outer Banks of North Carolina

Answer: Sir Walter Raleigh

This failed attempt to establish a settlement became known as The Lost Colony. Two attempts to settle on Roanoke Island were unsuccessful, with settlers disappearing without trace. It is widely speculated that the Croatan Indians were to blame for the demise of the colony, but just what brought about the unrest will forever remain a mystery. In 1607, settlers at Jamestown, Virginia tried in vain to find the lost colony.

From Quiz North Carolina History II

Answer: Took the photo of the Wright Brothers historic flight

Captain John T. Daniels of the Coast Guard was stationed at the Kitty Hawk Lifesaving Station in 1903. Along with fellow members Adam Etheridge and Will Dough of the station, W.C. Brinkley, and Johnny Moore, Daniels was one of five people to witness the brothers historic flight on December 17, 1903. Before he climbed aboard the Flyer for that flight, Orville Wright set up his camera and instructed Captain Daniels to use it "if something intresting happened." He would end up snapping the now famous picture of the brothers' first flight. Until that day Captain Daniels had never used a camera before. Captain Daniels would also find himself taking part in another bit of historic trivia after the fourth and final flight of the day. He attempted to help the brothers prevent the Flyer from being blown away by a gust of wind. Unfortunately for him, he was unable to let go when the plane proved difficult to keep grounded. He ended up being injured as the plane tumbled about, though not seriously. Captain Daniels hailed from Roanoke Island.

From Quiz Topsail Island, North Carolina

Answer: The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center

The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center was founded by Karen Beasley in mid 1980s. Since her untimely death in 1991, her mother Jean Beasley has been running the center. The center has drawn a lot of attention to the sea turtles and each year draws volunteers from across the country.

From Quiz Kings Mountain NC

Answer: October 7, 1780

October 17, 1780. The Battle of Kings Mountain has been labeled 'the turning point of the war' in the South.

From Quiz First in Flight II- North Carolina History

Answer: Liquor by the drink

Prior to the passage of this law, the only alcoholic beverages that were legal for on-site consumption were beer and unfortified wine, with some areas allowing "brown-bagging" in restaurants and private clubs. (Military bases were the lone exception to this law.) The bill did not mandate statewide mixed drink sales, it merely allowed counties and municipalities the right to allow voters to decide for their own areas. Charlotte was the first city to approve sales and most larger cities quickly followed suit, but many smaller towns and rural areas did not. As of 2013, mixed drink sales were still illegal in unincorporated areas of several counties, and one county remained completely alcohol free (dry).

From Quiz First in Flight - North Carolina History

Answer: Virginia Dare

The child of Eleanor and Ananias Dare was among the settlers who disappeared from Roanoke Colony. Her grandfather, John White, returned from England to find the small colony abandoned. "Dare" was popular for baby girls born in the area during the early twentieth century, and Dare County in North Carolina's Outer Banks was named for her.

From Quiz North Carolina History

Answer: Virginia Dare

Virginia Dare was the grand-daughter of Governor John White.

From Quiz Outer Banks of North Carolina

Answer: 1903

A large monument now stands at the site of this historic event, and is one of the most popular tourist attractions on the Outer Banks. The Wright brothers were originally from Dayton, Ohio, and were owners of a bicycle shop.

From Quiz North Carolina History II

Answer: The relocation of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

For decades the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse had been threatened by beach erosion. At one point the surf from the Atlantic was coming within 150 feet of the tower, in fact in a December storm in 1994 waves actually reached the base of the tower. Though efforts had been made for years to try and slow this process, they could not prevent it from occuring. In the end the choice was between saving a historic national landmark in a multi-million dollar relocation program or losing it forever. Hatteras was moved, without being taken apart brick by brick, to a point that placed it about 1,600 feet from high tide.

From Quiz North Carolina History

Answer: Nags Head

According to legend, land pirates on what is today known as Nags Head would place a lantern around a nags neck and proceed to walk it up and down the sand dunes. This would give the appearance of a ship riding at anchor in a safe harbor at night. Ships' captains seeing this would then be likely to head towards the light, only to be wrecked on the treacherous shoals. Then the land pirates could recover the salvage from the wreck.

From Quiz Topsail Island, North Carolina

Answer: Bertha and Fran

On July 12, 1996, Hurricane Bertha his the island, followed less than two months later by Fran on September 5. The combination of two powerful storms so close together devastated the inland. The estimated losses from both hurricanes was well over $6 billion. Hazel hit the island in October 1959, Bonnie hit in 1998, and Hurricane Floyd hit 1999.

From Quiz Kings Mountain NC

Answer: two or three hours

The battle began at 3pm and was over before nightfall.

From Quiz First in Flight - North Carolina History

Answer: Hurricane Hazel

After killing approximately 1,000 people in Haiti, Hurricane Hazel made landfall as a Category Four storm near the North and South Carolina state line on October 15. The deadly system cut a path through eastern and central North Carolina before storming up the coast, leaving destruction in its wake and eventually causing over 80 deaths in Canada.

From Quiz North Carolina History II

Answer: A seventeen pound gold nugget

John Reed, a former Hessian soldier turned North Carolina farmer, took the "yellow stone" to a Fayetteville jewler in 1802 to have it identified. Until that point, the family had been using the "yellow rock", found in Little Meadow Creek, as a doorstop. The jeweler identified the nugget as gold and then bought it from Reed for a mere tenth of a percent its actual value. Reed would return to his farm and the next year start the Reed mining operation, which would result in an estimated $100,000 being unearthed by 1824. The Reed's good fortune would spark the North Carolina gold rush. People from all over the Piedmont Region, as well as from places such as England, were soon mining for gold in North Carolina. The state would be the nation's leader in gold production until the California gold rush began in 1848.

From Quiz North Carolina History

Answer: Ambrose Burnside

The Battle of Roanoke Island was the first battle of Burnside's North Carolina Expedition, an expedition that would largely prove successful for Burnside. But this largely unknown campaign would be overshadowed for Burnside by his failure to cross what is now known as Burnside's bridge in a timely fashion at the Battle of Antietam and then his debacle as commander of the Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Fredricksburg.

From Quiz Topsail Island, North Carolina

Answer: Salt

Salt was a valuable commodity in the days before refrigeration. It was used to preserve meat and fish, for personal health and for trading. Up until this time, most of the salt came from Europe. Someone realized that the ocean had salt in it and an industry was born. The salt would be extracted from the sea water by boiling or evaporation. It is hard for us to imagine today something like salt being hard to find or expensive.

From Quiz Kings Mountain NC

Answer: Major Patrick Fergusion

Major Patrick Fergusion who was of Scottish origin. His claim to fame was as the inventor of the breechloading rifle. In the battle 228 Loyalists were killed, 163 wounded and 716 taken prisoner,compared to 28 Patriots killed and 63 wounded.

From Quiz First in Flight II- North Carolina History

Answer: It became an internment camp for German nationals

Approximately 2,200 civilians were sent to Hot Springs when Congress and President Wilson declared war on Germany in 1917. The detainees, or "enemy aliens" as they were called, spent the remainder of World War I in the camp. Located in the beautiful North Carolina mountains, the town is a modern day destination for those who enjoy hiking, rafting, and sightseeing.

From Quiz First in Flight - North Carolina History

Answer: New Bern

The town of New Bern was founded in 1710 by Swiss and German settlers. Due to its close proximity to the Neuse and Trent Rivers, the town thrived and was, for a time, the largest city in North Carolina. Tryon Palace was completed in 1770 and served as headquarters to both the Crown governor and the first seven state governors after the colonies declared independence from British rule. The capital was relocated in 1794 to its current site in Raleigh.

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