Knowledge Trivia Stuff

This story cannot be traced beyond the 20th century and may have been made up to suggest the naming of the river. Workers who distilled turpentine from the sticky sap of pine trees and burned pine boughs to produce tar and pitch often went barefoot during hot summer months and undoubtedly.

Tar Heel Ncpedia

An 1851 issue of the North Carolina Standard.

Tar heels name origin. The manufacture of tar for naval vessels. North Carolinas abundant pine forests provided a seemingly endless supply of pine pitch. Tar Heel State NC postcardThe origin of this nickname is mysterious though most historians agree that the name derives from North Carolinas long history as a producer of naval stores--tar pitch rosin and turpentine--all of which were culled from the States extensive pine forests.

The term tar heel dates back to North Carolinas early history when the state was a leading producer of supplies for the naval industry. UNC also mentions the term Tar Heels in connection to the Civil War. The Town of Tar Heel was incorporated by the State of North Carolina in 1964.

He is also co-chair of the universitys Commission on History Race A Way Forward tasked with helping the university reckon. Leloudis notes that many Confederate veterans from North Carolina wore a Tar Heel as a symbol of state pride during Reconstruction. There is not one clear story behind the origin of the Tar Heel nickname.

The other origin story comes from North Carolinas booming turpentine business in the 18th century. Earlier more cursory examinations pinned its origins to white North Carolina soldiers fighting to preserve slavery. The tar reputedly had been hastily dumped into the river to prevent the British from capturing it.

Hows that whats he going to do with it Hes gonna put it on your heels to make you stick better in the next fight answered the soldiers from the land of tar pitch and turpentine. NC history professor Jim Leloudis said the origin of the Tar Heels name is complicated and convoluted. The proud name of Tar Heel is thoroughly stuck to questions of race and class and its history is full of ironies.

Hailing from the Tar Heel State UNCs athletic program naturally adopted the name Tar Heels but what does it mean. I am proud of the name as tar is a sticky substance and the Tar Heels stuck up like a sick kitten to a hot brick while many others from a more oily State slipped to the rear and left the Tar Heels to stick it out. The town was known for its landing on the Cape Fear River.

Where did the Tar Heels nickname come from. Was hit and killed by a van while walking on the road in New Jersey for the Tar Heels Sweet Sixteen. This marked their passage through North Carolina as tar heels.

During the Civil War North Carolina soldiers did call themselves Tar Heels as an expression of state pride. According to UNCs alumni website the name Tar Heel dates back to when the state was the leading producer of supplies for the naval industry such as tar and workers would get tar on their heels. This is what happened.

The origin of the town name is different from the nickname given to the state of North Carolina. The origins of the name are not totally clear. The University of North Carolina settled on the nickname Tar Heels because North Carolina is known as the Tar Heel State.

Gerneral Lee hearing of the incident remarked. But when beyond doubt did the term Tar Heel begin to be. Civil War Origins of Tar Heel.

According to the university there are two widely circulated origin stories. During the Civil War North Carolina soldiers flipped the meaning of the term and turned an epithet into an accolade. On June 2 1863 an article in the semi-weekly Raleigh newspaper the North Carolina Standard the nickname Tar Heel appearedone of the first known uses in print.

State North Carolinas nickname Tar Heel State most likely originates from the states most prosperous industry from 1720 to 1870. God Bless the Tar Heel Boys. Some point to both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War as the likely birthplace for the nickname while others say it had to do with the naval.

Its a great quote and confirms the origin. Image from the State Archives.