Great Britian’s Tea Act of 1773 left the colonists paying a tax that they did not have a chance to vote for or against. After sending letters and petitions to the British government for years protesting taxes with little success, a group of Boston men took more direct action on December 16, 1773, by throwing tea into the harbor, an act that became known as the Boston Tea Party. British Parliament responded by passing the Intolerable Acts to punish the Americans and end what they saw as rebellion.
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For more than 250 years, people born beyond America's borders have helped shape the United States. Rafael Guastavino was one of them, bringing a distinctive building technique from Spain and eventually making North Carolina his home.
On May 30, 2026, the sound of hoofbeats carried across northeastern North Carolina. From Currituck County through Camden and Pasquotank to Perquimans County, riders traced the local lore of what would have been the journey of Betsy Dowdy, a 16-year-old whose courage has been celebrated in local stories for generations.
One way that America 250 NC invited young North Carolinians to participate in the 250th commemoration was through the County Flag Challenge. We invited fourth-grade students from across North Carolina to design county flags that reflect how they see their region of the state, and to write an essay explaining their designs.The goal was to inspire students to think critically about local history, culture, and geography through symbolism while establishing relationships between local families, school systems, and county committees.
Local & State History intern Nya Smythe’s research on the courthouse raid in the fall of 2025 was invaluable in the production of this article.
In 1976, the United States marked 200 years since the American Revolution—but it wasn’t just about fireworks and parades. On a national level, the Bicentennial celebrated famous leaders and events from 1776. As the country grappled with issues like the Vietnam War and a struggling economy, citizens reflected on what freedom meant. People in local communities—including Black Americans, American Indians, women, and others—used the Bicentennial to share their own stories. They saw the American Revolution as still happening, a chance to speak up and be heard.
The author, visiting The
This Worth Knowing post focuses on the HMS Cruizer, a British Navy ship that met a fiery end in 1776 in reaches of the lower Cape Fear, and how its connection to the last Royal Governor of the colony of North Carolina marked a critical moment in our state’s history. As-of-yet undiscovered, the remains of the Cruizer could provide a tangible link to a glimpse of the early stages of the American revolution in North Carolina and is the subject of extensive research by the Office of State Archaeology’s Underwater Archaeology Branch for A250NC.
Every summer, between Juneteenth and July 4th, communities across the country come together for Civic Season – a new annual tradition that encourages young people to learn and engage with history. As we approach Civic Season, this 250th year since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we reflect on North Carolina’s past and the long struggle over power to participate in civic life.
Celebrations of American Independence can be an occasion for summer food, including the much-celebrated local barbecue picnic. Through the statewide historic architectural survey program – which studies and documents the most humble of buildings and structures to the most monumental – it is worth knowing that the
Every summer, between Juneteenth and July 4th, communities across the country come together for Civic Season – a new annual tradition that encourages young people to learn and engage with history. As we approach Civic Season, this 250th year since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we reflect on North Carolina’s past and the long struggle over power to participate in civic life.
In an earlier posting of Worth Knowing, we featured the oldest known residence (to date) in North Carolina. This week, we share the story of one of the most recent architectural landmarks in our state, and one that is a tale of innovative design through geometry – many would say revolutionary – and the interrupted promise of an émigré to the United States.
Today’s Worth Knowing focuses on a historic bridge – and Revolutionary War combat – near Wilmington, and how archaeology can help us know more about history that took place in southeast North Carolina.
Charlotte began as a trading path crossroads between the Yadkin and Catawba Rivers. Benefitting from trade with the nearby Catawba tribe, European settlers established Mecklenburg County in 1762.
North Carolina’s rich history includes how people how navigated what is now North Carolina, using its more than 37,000 miles of lakes, rivers, sounds, and inlets. With access to the Atlantic Ocean and the second largest estuary system in the United States, our waterways have for millennia served as a travel system and a means of connection deeply embedded in our state’s cultural landscape for both Indigenous and historic peoples residing here.