When the United States needed a power source for nuclear weapons research, it turned to the mountains of North Carolina. The only thing that stood in the government’s way: the people living there.
The 1940s: The Miracle of Hickory
When polio strikes children in the Piedmont, doctors, nurses, and volunteers rise to the occasion to build an emergency quarantine hospital.
The 1940s: Field of Dreams
At a rural crossroads in Halifax County, black farmers chart a new destiny for their families through the Tillery resettlement program.
The 1940s: Land of Blue Smoke
With the creation of the Qualla Boundary comes conflict — between two men determined to lead the Eastern band of Cherokee and within the tribe itself.
The 1940s: The Deluge of 1940
Mountain communities bear the brunt of the decade’s most deadly Atlantic storm — forever changing our western landscape.
The 1940s: The Home of the Airborne
After the Great War, the army planned to mothball a sandhills airfield. But when the United States is pulled into another conflict, the base is reborn with a new purpose and a new name: Fort Bragg.
The 1940s: The Soundtrack of the Decade
In the 1940s, traditional mountain music gives rise to bluegrass, jazz spreads nationwide, and three North Carolina natives make their mark on American music.
The 1940s: The Liberty Armada
When America went to war in 1941, the Navy turned to Wilmington to provide ships. The city’s response helped secure victory for the Allies and left a lasting mark on the North Carolina coast.
The 1940s: The Decade of Transformation
North Carolina began the 1940s as a mainly rural, isolated state hit hard by the Great Depression. But by the end of the decade, it was a different kind of state: one we recognize as our home.
