Historic Photos of North Carolina

Native North Carolinians tend to learn the state toast (adopted by the General Assembly in 1957) in childhood. As with the state motto, Esse Quam Videri (To be rather than to seem), such words from the toast as "Here’s to the land of the longleaf pine” hold an amazing power to inspire the varied denizens of North Carolina, a state with deep and varied agricultural and industrial histories.

Words are fine for inspiration, and for recording the achievements of those who once heard or spoke suc...