Topics Related to This Day in North Carolina History

Pasteurization Initiative in Tarboro, 1918

On October 1, 1918, the Tarboro Town Council passed an ordinance making it illegal for unpasteurized milk or cream to be sold within the town limits.

First Town Lots Recorded in Bath

On October 1, 1706, the first town lots in Bath were recorded and acknowledged in court.  The lots belonged to Christopher Gale, the first Chief Justice of the colony.  Bath, incorporated in 1705, is North Carolina’s oldest town.

Home of the Airborne and Special Forces, Fort Bragg

On September 30, 1922, Camp Bragg—the U.S. War Department’s World War I-era field artillery training facility near Fayetteville—was re-designated Fort Bragg and made a permanent Army post.

Fairgrounds Hosted Last NASCAR Race on Dirt Track

On September 30, 1970, the last NASCAR race on a dirt track was held in Raleigh at the State Fairgrounds, Richard Petty took away the day’s top prize, in what was billed as the Home State 200.

John Hope Franklin, From Greenwood to the White House

On September 29, 1995, President Bill Clinton awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, to John Hope Franklin of Durham.

Freedmen’s Convention Assembled in Raleigh

On September 29, 1865, five months after the close of the Civil War, the “Convention of the Freedmen of North Carolina,” a statewide assembly of African Americans, gathered at the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Raleigh.

“Old Hickory” Division Breaks Hindenburg Line

On September 29, 1918, the 30th Infantry Division broke the Hindenburg Line, an important segment of the German defensive network on the Western Front during World War I.

From the Drifters to “Stand By Me,” Ben E. King

On September 28, 1938, soul and R&B singer Ben E. Nelson, better known as Ben E. King, was born in Henderson.

David Walker and His Appeal, a Transformative Book

Walker's Ap

Creation of Lake Norman Altered the Landscape

On September 28, 1959, Southern Power Company—now Duke Energy—broke ground on the Cowan’s Ford Dam on the Catawba River.