02/02/11

These pictures definitely do not show the weather here today. It was near 70 and raining! Tomorrow is supposed to be back cold. Crazy, crazy!

Since Wesley and Mikayla are working on their North Carolina History, I thought it would be interesting to share a few facts.... some are quite humorous.

North Carolina had the first operating silver mine in the United States. "The Silver Hill Mine", as it was called, opened near Lexington in 1838.

North Carolina was the first state to impeach a governor. William Woods Holden was impeached in 1871, after two years in office. Holden was accused of waste and corruption. The state legislature removed him from office by a vote.

Venus'-flytrap grows wild only in South Carolina and North Carolina.

It used to be illegal in North Carolina to sing out of tune. (I'd have been in jail repeatedly....)

Mount Mitchell is the highest mountain peak east of the Mississippi River.

It used to illegal in North Carolina to drink water or milk on a train! (Well, what in the world DID they drink?)

The tallest lighthouse in the words is at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. It is 208 feet tall (I've climbed it!) and was built to protect ships from being smashed to pieces on the Outer Banks. Originally, the light in the beacon came from flaming whale oil.

The green kudzu vines that creep over everything in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia are not native to the South. They were brought in from Asia in the 1870's as part of a plan to stop soil erosion along riverbanks. But kudzu has so completely taken over that it is now called the Scourge of the South!

The first interstate railroad in the United States was built in 1833 between Blakely, North Carolina, and Petersburg, Virginia. The railroad was used to transport tobacco from North Carolina to markets in Virginia. It was called the Petersburg Railroad and was about 75 miles long.

So there you have it. Did you learn anything new today? I surely did when I read them! :)