North Carolina: The Tar Heel State

Original, hand-drawn story map and accompanying gifts of North Carolina by renowned Illustrator and Xplorer Maps Co-Founder, Chris Robitaille.

Originally established as one of the Thirteen Colonies in 1729, North Carolina was officially admitted to the Union on November 21st, 1789 becoming our nation’s 12th state. The ancestral home of the Cherokee, North Carolina today is the 9th most populous state and has emerged as one of the nation’s largest banking centers (Charlotte is #2 behind only NYC); an epicenter of higher education; and a tourist destination that rivals anywhere in the country for its variety of recreational opportunities. 

Famous for its moniker “First in Flight” commemorating the Wright Brothers historic flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina boasts an incredible diversity of landscapes. From the Appalachian Mountains in the west (Mount Mitchell at 6684 feet in elevation is the highest peak in North America east of the Mississippi); to the central Piedmont region with its vibrant cities; and continuing on eastward to the Atlantic coastal plains and the sandy shores of the Outer Banks and hundreds of miles of coastline …North Carolina has it all!