NC League of Municipalities

On November 27, 1962, while speaking in Rocky Mount, Dr. Martin Luther King used his soon-to-be famous refrain, “I have a dream,” which would be heard by a much larger audience from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial the following August.

Tobaccoville was named for a plug chewing tobacco factory owned and operated in the 1870s. The Orrender Tobacco Factory was the principal landmark in the area, and the name "Tobaccoville" was suggested for the post office.

When the University of North Carolina Board of Trustees chose the area around New Hope Chapel as the site for the first state university in 1793, they also named a committee to lay out a town adjacent to the site.

Incorporated in 1907, Garland was originally known as Sloan’s Crossing.

The Oakdale Cotton Mill in Jamestown is the oldest textile mill in continuous operation in the United States.

Danbury was established in 1850 to serve as the Stokes County seat.

In the 1870s, Kernersville citizens graded four miles of land for the railroad tracks themselves to ensure the railroad would travel through town.

Because Ocean Isle Beach stretches for seven miles in an unusual east-west direction, sunrises and sunsets are amazingly dramatic.

Though originally named Excelsior, Rutherford College is now named for the college that was located here years ago.

An ancient Indian Mound located in the heart of town serves as a reminder of an earlier time when the Cherokee lived in and around what is now called Franklin. Streets with names like Wayah, Ulco, Iotla and Watauga reflect Indian heritage.