How much do you know about the history of North Carolina's nickname, ‘The Tar Heel State’? We’re covering this history and more in today’s episode as we branch out to discuss a classic symbol of the Old North State, the Long Leaf Pine, and its deeply rooted impact on our economy, geography, and culture. Reference Archivist Katie Crickmore will explain the state’s naval stores industry, Microfilm Specialist Erin Templeton will walk us through the adoption of the State Toast and the State Tree, and Correspondence Associate Annabeth Poe will explore the origins of the prestigious Order of the Long Leaf Pine, all led by host John Horan. Thanks for sticking with us through our State Symbols series!
Primary Sources:
“State Toast and Song.” General Statutes of North Carolina: 1957 Cumulative Supplement, vol. 3b, p. 346. North Caroline Digital State Publications Collection, https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/general-statutes-of-north-carolina-1957-cumulative-supplement-v.3b/5602530?item=5605170.
Archibald S. McMillan Collection, 1779-1906. Private Collections, PC.1676.
Account of Naval Stores Imported [into Britain. n.d.], 1717-1720. British Records: ADM 49 Selections, Prices of Stores. ID: 21.123.8.1.
Martin, Leonora and Mary Burke Kerr. “A Toast.” Our State, 9 Aug. 1958, vol. 26: no. 5, p. 12-13, https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/state/978018?item=978074.
Clark, Walter. “Our State Motto and its Origin.” North Carolina Booklet: great events in North Carolina history, Jan. 1910, vol.9: no. 3, p. 182, https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/north-carolina-booklet-great-events-in-north-carolina-history-1910-january-v.9-no.3/413740?item=455474.
Order of the Long Leaf Pine. Governors Papers: Governor Sanford, Miscellaneous Subject Files 1961-1965, Box 3.
Secondary Sources:
Butler, Carroll B. Treasures of the Longleaf Pines: Naval Stores. Tarkel Publishing, 1998.
Outland, Robert B. “Slavery, Work, and the Geography of the North Carolina Naval Stores Industry, 1835-1860.” The Journal of Southern History, vol. 62, no. 1, 1996, p. 27–56. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2211205.
Leonard, John W. “Martin, Leonora Monteiro.” Woman’s who’s who of America: a biographical dictionary of contemporary women of the United States and Canada, 1914-1915, pub. 1976, p.544, https://archive.org/details/womanswhoswhoofa00leon/page/n5/mode/2up.
“Origin and History.” Order of the Long Leaf Pine Society, 2026, https://longleafpinesociety.org/order-of-the-long-leaf-pine/.
