North Carolina State Symbols, Emblems, and Mascots
North Carolina Symbols, North Carolina Emblems, and North Carolina Mascots
Browse the state's symbols; state animal, state bird, state flower, state flag, state fossil, state insect, state motto, state seal, state tree, color, dance, fish, mammal, music, nut, reptile seal, and miscellaneous designations, emblems, and mascot of each state with pictures. Find origin of the state name. View the state almanacs, state timelines and peruse state facts and stats such as the capitol, location, and date admitted to the union.
Middle Atlantic
Tarheel State
North Carolina Symbols, Emblems, and Mascots |
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| Berries | strawberry as the official Red Berry (Session laws, 2001, c. 488) blueberry as the official Blue Berry (Session laws, 2001, c. 488) Strawberries (genus fragaria) are high in Vitamin C and A, and supply 8% of the RDA for Iron. There are only 60 calories in a cup of fresh berries and zero grams of fat. Blueberries (genus vaccinium) A cup of blueberries supplies 50% of the RDA for Vitamin C, as well as 22% of the fiber recommended for a healthy diet. |
| Beverage | Milk, 1987 |
| Bird | Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 1943 |
| Boat -Historical | Shad Boat, 1987 The Shad Boat was developed on Roanoke Island and is known for its unique crafting and maneuverability. The name is derived from that of the fish it was used to catch - the shad. Traditional small sailing craft were generally ill-suited to the waterways and weather conditions along the coast. The shallow draft of the Shad Boat plus its speed and easy handling made the boat ideal for the upper sounds where the water was shallow and the weather changed rapidly. The boats were built using native trees such as cypress, juniper, and white cedar, and varied in length between twenty-two and thirty-three feet. Construction was so expensive that the production of the Shad Boat ended in the 1930s, although they were widely used into the 1950s. The boats were so well constructed that some, nearly 100 years old, are still seen around Manteo and Hatteras. |
| Colors | Red and Blue, 1945 |
| Dog | Plott Hound, 1989 The Plott Hound breed originated in the mountains of North Carolina around 1750 and is the only breed known to have originated in this State. Named for Jonathan Plott who developed the breed as a wild boar hound, the Plott Hound is a legendary hunting dog known as a courageous fighter and tenacious tracker. He is also a gentle and extremely loyal companion to hunters of North Carolina. The Plott Hound is very quick of foot with superior treeing instincts and has always been a favorite of big-game hunters. The Plott Hound has a beautiful brindle-colored coat and a spine-tingling, bugle-like call. It is also only one of four breeds known to be of American origin. |
| Festival, Northeastern Watermelon |
Hertford County Watermelon Festival, 1993 |
| Festival, Southeastern Watermelon |
Fair Bluff Watermelon Festival, Columbus County |
| Fish - Salt Water | Channel Bass (Red Drum) 1971 Usually occur in great supply along the Tar Heel coastal waters and have been found to weigh up to 75 pounds although most large ones average between 30 and 40 pounds. |
| Flag | State Flag, 1885 |
| Flower | Dogwood, 1941 |
| Fruit | Scuppernong grape (Session laws, 2001, c. 488). The Scuppernong (vitis rotundifolia) is a variety of muscadine grape, and has the distinction of being the first grape ever actively cultivated in the United States. It was named for the Scuppernong River, which runs from Washington County to the Albemarle Sound. Giovanni de Verrazano noticed this variety as far back as 1524, and explorers for Sir Walter Raleigh (or Ralegh, as it's sometimes spelled) in the 1580's sent back reports from the Outer Banks of grape vines that “…covered every shrub and climbed the tops of high cedars. In all the world, a similar abundance was not to be found.” The Roanoke colonists are credited with discovering the Scuppernong “Mother Vineyard,” a vine that is now over 400 years old and covers half an acre. Grape cultivation (of scuppernong and other varieties) is a small but growing part of the North Carolina economy. The value of the state's 2000 crop was over $2,600,000, up 17% from 1999. According to the NC Department of Agriculture, there are 250 vineyards and 21 wineries located throughout the state. |
| Insect | Honeybee, 1973 |
| Mammal | Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) 1969 |
| Military Academy | Oak Ridge Military Academy, Oak Ridge |
| Motto | Esse quam videri (To be, rather than to seem) |
| Reptile | Eastern Box Turtle, 1979 |
| Rock | Granite, 1979 The State of North Carolina has been blessed with an abundant source of "the noble rock," granite. Just outside Mount Airy in Surry County is the largest open face granite quarry in the world measuring one mile long and 1,800 feet in width. The granite from this quarry is unblemished, gleaming, and without interfering seams to mar its splendor. The high quality of this granite allows its widespread use as a building material, in both industrial and laboratory applications where supersmooth surfaces are necessary. |
| Seal | Great Seal, 1893 |
| Shell | Scotch Bonnet (pronounced bonay) 1965 |
| Song | "The Old North State" 1947 Words by William Gaston Music by Mrs. E. E. Randolph |
| Stone | Emerald, 1973 |
| Tartan | Carolina tartan, 1991 |
| Toast | "A Toast", 1957 |
| Tree | Pine (Pinaceae Pinus palustris) 1963 |
| Vegetables | Sweet Potato, 1995 Students at a Wilson County school petitioned the North Carolina General Assembly for the establishment of the sweet potato as the Official State Vegetable. Their assignment led to the creation of this state symbol. North Carolina is the largest producer of sweet potatoes in the nation, harvesting over 550 million pounds of the vegetable in 2000. The sweet potato is high in vitamins A and C and low in fat and was grown in North Carolina before the European colonization of North America. |
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