It’s Great to Be a Fan in North Carolina

It’s Great to Be a Fan in North Carolina — page 5
These sticky substances came from longleaf pine trees Boat builders coated their boats with these materials to guard against leaks and worm damage The tar often got stuck to people’s feet At first the tar heel state nickname was used to make fun of the people who did these jobs But over time people began to take pride in the name And like the tar the nickname stuck After the American Revolutionary War 1775 1783 the United States was officially an independent country North Carolina became the nation’s 12th state in 1789 Two of the state’s major industries at that time were cotton and tobacco farming Both were harvested primarily through the use of enslaved African people In 1729 North Carolina had 6,000 slaves By 1800 there were more than 130,000 The state’s first cotton mill 8