North Carolina State Symbols and Official Adoptions

The North Carolina General Assembly adopted its first state symbol in 1885 with legislation recognizing the official State Flag. Since that time, the Legislature has adopted more symbols, from the State Dog to the State Marsupial to the State Beverage and the State Vegetable. Some symbols are emblems or iconic representations of the state's history and culture, such as the flag or the Great Seal. Others represent the state's unique natural heritage, such as the Cardinal and the Venus Fly Trap, or elements, like the sweet potato, that have been vital to sustaining the people or the economy.

State Symbols and other Official Adoptions are created from legislation enacted by the General Assembly and signed into law by the Governor. The adoption of each state symbol is associated with a particular piece of legislation enumerated in the North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 145: State Symbols and Other Official Adoptions. Scroll down this page to access a list of the state's official adoptions (with links to NCpedia articles).

During the 2015-2016 legislative session two bills were introduced to designate official adoptions: for new official adotion. On January 26, 2015, a bill was introduced for the adoption of the Old Fort Gold Festival, in McDowell County, as the official Gold Festival of North Carolina. The festival has been celebrated during the first weekend in June since 2003. And on March 4, 2015, a bill was introduced to name the Bobcat as the official State Cat. Fourth-graders at Benvenue Elementary School in Nash County wrote to their state legislator to recommend that the General Assembly adopt an official state cat to complement the state dog, the Plott Hound. The legislation was sponsored by Rep. Bobbie Richardson, a Nash County Democrat. The General Assembly concluded the legislative session in 2015 without taking up either legislation for ratification.

To read entries about many of North Carolina's most well-known state symbols and the history of North Carolina in Spanish, visit this NCpedia link: https://ncpedia.org/libro-de-hechos-de-el-viejo-estado-del-norte

Featured State Adoption -- Image of a man fly fishing

Colorful plotthound drawing, NC state symbols coloring pages

North Carolina's State Symbols and Other Official Adoptions: Articles on State Symbols in NCpedia

Click on the blue text to access individual articles

Art Medium
Aviation Museums

Aviation Hall of Fame
Berries - The Red Berry and The Blue Berry
Beverage
Bird
Boat
Butterfly
Carnivorous Plant
Christmas Tree
Colors
Dance, Folk
Dance, Popular
Dog
Festival, Blue Monday Shad Fry
Festival, Collard
Festival, Food Festival of the North Carolina Piedmont Triad: Lexington Barbecue Festival
Festival, Herring
Festival, International
Festival, Livermush - Fall and Spring
Festival, Mullet
Festival, Peanut
Festival, Potato
Festival, Shad
Festival, Shrimp
Festival, Watermelon - Northeastern NC, Southeastern NC
Flag
Folk Art
Flower
Fossil
Freshwater Trout
Frog
Fruit
Home of the Fly Fishing Museum of the Southern Appalachians (Swain County)
Honor and Remember Flag
Horse
Insect
Language
Mammal
Marsupial
Military Academy
Mineral
Motto

Outdoor Festival (North Carolina Outdoor Festival, adopted June 2018, 2017 Legislative Session, article forthcoming)
Pottery birthplace
Reptile
Rock
Salamander
Salt Water Fish
Salute, Flag
Seal
Shell
Song
Sport
Stone, Precious
Tartan
Theatre, Professional
Theatre, Community
Toast
Tree
Vegetable
Veterans Day Parade, Town of Warsaw
Wildflower

North Carolina Legislation Authorizing State Symbols and Other Official Adoptions

NCpedia article listing state symbols and corresponding N.C. General Statutes (with links to statutes)

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18 October 2012 | Agan, Kelly

Comments

great work

Permalink Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 03/05/2015 - 13:55

Comment:

great work

hi guys

Permalink Submitted by jorry (not verified) on Fri, 03/27/2015 - 08:27

Comment:

hi guys

Can the state gemstone be a

Permalink Submitted by william (not verified) on Thu, 02/05/2015 - 08:33

Comment:

Can the state gemstone be a diamond! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ASK THE GOVERNMENT PLEASE

You are welcome to write your

Permalink Submitted by munderhill on Thu, 02/05/2015 - 08:40

Comment:

You are welcome to write your state legislator to request it. You may find out who represents you at http://www.ncleg.net/representation/WhoRepresentsMe.aspx.

The official state precious stone is the emerald.

Best,

Michelle Underhill, Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina

I LOVE THIS SITE IT HAS SO

Permalink Submitted by william (not verified) on Thu, 02/05/2015 - 08:28

Comment:

I LOVE THIS SITE IT HAS SO MUCH DETAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

what is our state amusment

Permalink Submitted by chance (not verified) on Thu, 02/05/2015 - 08:22

Comment:

what is our state amusment park

six flags or carowinds

Permalink Submitted by ANNONYMOUS (not verified) on Wed, 04/11/2018 - 10:21

Comment:

six flags or carowinds

We do not have a North

Permalink Submitted by munderhill on Thu, 02/05/2015 - 08:49

Comment:

We do not have a North Carolina state symbol at this time that is our official state amusement park. However, NCpedia does have an article about the history of amusement parks in North Carolina at http://ncpedia.org/amusement-parks. If you are looking for information about different amusement parks in North Carolina to visit, there is information about them on the Visit NC website at http://visitnc.com.

Best,

Michelle Underhill, Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina

can we have football as our

Permalink Submitted by william (not verified) on Thu, 02/05/2015 - 08:19

Comment:

can we have football as our state sport?

Stock car racing became North

Permalink Submitted by munderhill on Thu, 02/05/2015 - 08:44

Comment:

Stock car racing became North Carolina's official state sport in 2011. To propose a state symbol, you may write to your state legislators. You may find out who represents you in the state legislature at http://www.ncleg.net/representation/WhoRepresentsMe.aspx.

Best,

Michelle Underhill, Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina

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