Legend and lore are essential parts of our cultural heritage in the Carolinas. Just ask our friends along the coast, such as those in the Outer Banks, Murrells Inlet area, Charleston, and people living in the Appalachian Mountains. Ironically, this legend is one that you may not be familiar with, and it ties one North…
The 1955 Cherokee Bridge Collapse
On July 3, 1955, a deadly accident occurred when a 150-foot bridge gave way in Cherokee, North Carolina. The incident happened just before noon when the cables supporting it jerked from the structure, hurling tourists to the rocks and waters below. It was first thought that overcrowding may have played a role in the bridge…
Historic and Allegedly Haunted Blount-Bridgers House
The historic Blount-Bridgers House, known as The Grove, is in Tarboro, North Carolina. Thomas Blount built it in 1808, and many consider it one of the more haunted places in Edgecombe County. Visitors and staff have reported seeing a female specter since the home was converted into a museum in 1979. Many believe the ghost…
The Hunter of Purgatory Mountain
No one knows where the name originated, but if you have ever visited the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, you have been on Purgatory Mountain. In 1971, a land grant of nearly 1,400 acres from Purgatory Mountain was issued to designate and build the state’s Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Some believe the name originated from…
Land of Oz: No Place Like Home
Land of Oz in Beech Mountain, North Carolina, was/is a theme park based on L Frank Baum’s Land of Oz books. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz series comprises 14 books in total by Baum. Baum’s description of Kansas in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was based on his experiences in drought-ridden South Dakota in 1888….
1999 Hurricane Floyd
It is hard to believe it has been almost 26 years since Hurricane Floyd, then the worst hurricane in the state’s history, slammed into Eastern North Carolina. The storm crashed ashore on September 16, 1999, resulting in 51 fatalities, record flooding, and billions in damage. The monster hurricane’s storm surge amounted to 9-10 feet along…
The Great Flood of 1916: Asheville, North Carolina
The Great Flood, as many call it, and is often nicknamed “The Flood by Which All Other Floods Are Measured,” occurred when two tropical storms converged and packed a powerful punch over Asheville, North Carolina, during the summer of 1916. The National Weather Bureau stated that never before had so much rain fallen anywhere in…
2024 Hurricane Helene
Hurricane Helene is the deadliest hurricane to hit the contiguous United States since Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. The storm caused at least 248 deaths, with 175 of those deaths directly related to this massive storm, whether by wind, flood, or other immediate impacts, and racked up almost $80 billion in damages. Helene has officially…
The North Carolina Coal Glen Mine Disaster
The most significant loss of life in a mining accident in the state of North Carolina occurred on May 27, 1925, when 53 miners were killed by explosions in the Coal Glen mine in Farmville, located in Chatham County. When we think of coal mining, West Virginia and Pennsylvania are typically the first states that…
Hurricane Helene (1958)
Hurricane Helene raked the Carolinas coast on September 27, 1958, but did not make landfall. That morning, the massive Category 4 storm with winds up to 150 mph approached Charleston, South Carolina, before abruptly turning to the north and northeast. The storm brought heavy rainfall to Eastern North Carolina, damaging many homes and buildings. Written…