Tabor in North Carolina

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

Part of North Carolina became the State of Franklin (now Tennessee) in 1784.
The article below was written in 1885 and makes interesting reading.

Topography: North Carolina is about 450 miles in length east and west, and has an extreme breadth of 185 miles, and an area of 52,250 square miles, or 33,440,000 acres. The west is mountainous, the centre hilly, and the coast lands low and swampy. That part of the Allegheny range which separates this State from Tennessee has a number of local names. The several ridges enclose an extensive plateau, having a general elevation of about 3,500 feet.

Climate: The climate of the State is varied. In the low country it is warm and moist; on the mountains, cool and dry.

History: In the year 1584 Sir Walter Raleigh discovered what is known as North Carolina, and explored the coast for some distance. In honor of Queen Elizabeth he named the country Virginia. The first permanent settlements were made by Virginians in the north. The two Carolinas were separated in 1729, prior to which time what is now North Carolina was known as Albemarle. In 1712 North and South Carolina united to put down the Tuscaroras, and in 1713 this dangerous and powerful tribe emigrated to the northwest.

North Carolina claims to have taken the initiative in renouncing allegiance to the English crown, and it is said that the declaration of independence made at Mecklenburgh, May, 1775, was the first attempt to renounce the authority of Great Britain. In May, 1875, the North Carolinians celebrated the centenary of this event. In December, 1776, a State constitution was adopted and a governor elected. It was not until 1780 that active military operations began within the State. On October 7 a detachment of Cornwallis' army was defeated with great loss at King's Mountain. On March 15, 1781, the important battle of Guilford Court House was fought. North Carolina ratified the constitution of the United States in November, 1789.

An ordinance of secession was adopted in convention on May 21, 1861, and the Confederate constitution ratified. The forts which commanded Wilmington and Beaufort, the United States arsenal at Fayetteville, and the mint at Charlotte, were seized by State troops during the last days of April.

Population: Census of 1880: Males, 687,908; Females, 711,842; Native, 1,396,008; Foreign, 3,742; White, 867,242; Colored, 532,508, including 1 Japanese, and 1,230 Indians and Half-breeds.