State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: History of Transportation
An overview of the history of transportation in North Carolina, by water, road, and air, up to the twentieth century.
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Improvements in Transportation: Post American Revolution to Civil War
From the earliest days of European exploration, the land and waterways seemed to do their best to frustrate growth and movement in what was to become North Carolina. In its natural condition, the area was just not an easy place to get...
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Canals
Since the eighteenth century, canals and canal building have been an important part of Tidewater, North Carolina history. It was seen as the state's best hope for overcoming natural barriers to coastal navigation and mercantile trade....
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Steamboats
In North Carolina, the concept of travel by steamboat was first introduced in 1815, when Archibald D. Murphey chaired a legislative committee on inland navigation. The first steamboat entered the state in 1818 when the New Bern Steamboat...
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Roads
Roads made of several different materials have been common in North Carolina during various eras of its history, for example, corduroy roads, plank roads, Macadam roads, and clay roads. Read more about the interesting history of North...