From towns to battlefields, these 17 sites across our state still echo with the footsteps — and sacrifices — that helped forge a new nation.
Coltrane’s High Point
The legacy of one of the world’s most influential jazz musicians has its roots in the Piedmont city where he grew up, which has finally embraced this 20th-century musical icon.
A Colossal Christmas Tree
For more than 80 years, the 75-foot-tall community Christmas tree in Wilmington’s Hilton Park stood as a hallmark of holiday celebrations.
The Woman Behind the Lens
Bayard Wootten became the first woman in the North Carolina National Guard thanks to her innovative photography.
George Masa’s Peak Dedication
In the early 20th century, a Japanese photographer and his writer friend traversed the rugged terrain north of Cherokee, mapping its peaks and valleys, documenting its beauty. In the process, they helped save the land we now know as Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The Legendary Lodge of Hooper Bald
In the early 1900s, a self-made businessman fell in love with Graham County and spared no expense in building an extravagant hunting preserve there. A century later, his granddaughter visits to find that all that’s left of his Hooper Bald dream is local lore — and wild boar.
The Masked Publisher
Even when it wasn’t Halloween, the late founder of this magazine put the “trick” in trick or treat.
