From its seashore to its mountains, North Carolina presents a variety of faces. The first English settlement in America was Fort Raleigh. More than half the state is forested and provides valuable timber to the construction industries. It is known as the Tobacco and Textile state.

North Carolina produces two thirds of the nation’s bright-leaf tobacco. It also provides many other prosperous harvesting crops. Poultry and livestock also are major industries. Tourism also provides large revenues that almost ranks it equally with the industrial production. Furniture manufacturing along with the handicrafts of the Appalachian Region has gained worldwide recognition.

The statewide sales tax in North Carolina is four percent with local options for an additional two percent.

Recreation is so varied that all tastes can be satisfied. Beach activities, such as camping, swimming and fishing are abundant in the Outer Banks, which has seventy miles of beaches. Shipwrecks off the Atlantic coast attract scores of scuba divers. The Great Smokey Mountains National Park offers variety of activities, including camping, fishing, horseback riding and hiking. At the end of the park is Cherokee, North Carolina, which is the home of the Cherokee Indian Reservation. Mountain streams are full of rainbow and brook trout just waiting for fisherman. Manmade lakes offer many more varieties of fish. The Piedmont area has many distinguishing golf courses and equestrian activities.