The exact origins of North Carolina's nickname is mysterious, though most historians agree that the name is derived from its long history as a producer of naval stores--tar, pitch, rosin and turpentine--all of which were used from the State's extensive pine forests. There was even a book written on this subject, and the authors concluded that because North Carolina led the world in the production of naval stores from about 1720 to 1870, it was this industry which gave North Carolina its nickname, the "Tar Heel State." Who am I to disagree?
