CAPSULE
Compiled by
State News Bureau
The 1952 North Carolina
STATE OF MANY FIRSTS —
North Carolina is known as Dixie's
State of "firsts." The first English
Colony was planted on Roanoke Is¬
land in 1585. The first airplane flight
was made at Kitty Hawk in 1903. The
Tar Heel State has many other histori¬
cal and geographical firsts, including
Mt. Mitchell. 6.684 ft., highest moun¬
tain cast of the Mississippi; Fontana,
highest dam in the cast; Fort Bragg,
largest military reservation in U. S.;
the latest rural population in the
U. S.. and the largest school bus fleet.
But it is "firsts" of another kind that
makes North Carolina the pacesetter
of the Southeast. It is first in popula¬
tion. first in income, first in industry
and first in agriculture.
POPULATION — 4.061.929.
(1 0th in U. S.) 1950 Census.
Male 2.017.105. female 2.044.824.
66.3 per cent rural and 33.7 per cent
urban. 73.4 per cent white. Average
age 25 years.
AREA — 52.712 sq. miles (27th in
U. S.). Land area 49.097 square miles,
water area 3.615 square miles. Great¬
est length 503 miles.
LARGEST INDUSTRIES — Tex¬
tiles, tobacco. Leads U. S.
LARGEST CROP — Tobacco.
Leads U. S.
CAPITAL — Raleigh, established
1792.
NAME — From Latin "Carolus,"
in honor of King Charles I of England.
NICKNAME— Tar Heel State. Ap¬
plied by General Robert E. Lee to de¬
scribe sticking quality of North
Carolina troops during Civil War.
MOTTO — Esse Ouam Videri (To
Be Rather Than To Seem).
SONG — "The Old North State,"
by Judge William Gaston (adopted
1927).
FLOWER — Dogwood (1941).
BIRD — Cardinal (1943).
COLORS — Blue and Red
(1945).
INDUSTRY — North Carolina
leads the Southeast in industrial pro¬
duction. It is the nation’s largest pro¬
ducer of textile, tobacco, and wooden
The Stale Capitol was completed in 1840.
furniture products. The value of its
manufactured products exceeded 6 bil¬
lion dollars in 1951. Its 8,272 plants
employed 425.000 workers. Indus¬
trialization has proceeded with great
rapidity since World War II. during
which time hundreds of new industries
have moved to the State and others
tobacco still account for over half the
dollar value production, but the
healthy diversification of the State's
industrial development is shown in the
following table of the seven largest
classifications, according to 1951 rank.
Note particularly the increased impor¬
tance of chemical and paper manufac-
have enlarged
facilities. Textiles
and turing.
1939
1949
1950
1951
Textile» _
Tobacco . .
Food» . —
Chemicals _..... — .
I. umber . . .
. * 549,700,000
_ 538.400.000
. . 69,100,000
- 50,700,000
45.800.000
*1.913.700.000
841,400,000
293,300,000
162.500,000
167,800,000
*2,282.000,000
1.023.000,000
365,000,000
248,000,000
251.000.000
*2,688,000,000
1.284.000.000
478,000.000
343,000.000
305,000.000
Paper -
Furniture .........
Others . . —
Tottl — . .
Employees -
Establishments ...
_ 26.000.000
_ 58,800,000
_ 82,700,000
. -.41.421.300.000
- 270,210
- 3.225
158,800,000
180.800.000
361.500,000
(4,079.800.000
380,700
MM
182,000,000
210,000.000
467,000,000
*5,031,000,000
423,000
6475
244.000,000
239,000,000
600,000,000
*6.181.000,000
425.000
8472
THE STATE.
О СТО В
C R 11. 1952
