Here’s The Most Important Historical Event In North Carolina

America is relatively young compared to other nations at 242 years, but that doesn’t mean it’s short on historical contributions. And just as the U.S. has played a key role in shaping the world, North Carolina has helped shape America into what it is today.

While Massachusetts and Pennsylvania receive much — or most — of the recognition for their contributions to America’s founding, that doesn’t mean North Carolina has been sitting idle. Yes, Nina Simone and Andy Griffith were born here, and Cheerwine and Krispy Kreme were founded here. But according to a new report, neither was the most significant thing to happen in North Carolina.

The website 24/7 Wall St., a Delaware-based company that covers financial news and offers opinions, looked over state historical information, research sources and media reports of major events throughout U.S. history to come up with what it calls the “most important” event for each state, including disasters — due to Mother Nature or people —important legislation and scientific breakthroughs. See if you agree.

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In North Carolina, the site says manned flight in 1903 was the the single most significant event in the history of the Tar Heel state.

Per 24/7 Wall St., “Though the Wright Brothers grew up in Ohio, they found the perfect place for their flying machine experiments in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The brothers pored over weather records before determining that North Carolina would suit their needs. The first flight lasted just 12 seconds and covered 120 feet. By the end of the day, the world’s first airplane stayed in the air for nearly one minute.”

Tell Us: What local and state events were significant in the history of North Carolina? Tell us what you think in the comments.

Other major events you may recognize from around the country include the opening of Grand Canyon National Park in 1919 in Arizona, the desegregation of schools in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957 and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City.

“Many of the events on our list are tragic, including the forced removal of Native Americans from their lands — the Trail of Tears in the South — as well as attacks from domestic and foreign terrorists,” the site says.

“In the case of several states, fighting between white settlers and Native Americans ranked as the most important historical event. The treatment of indigenous people shaped America in many ways, and often occurred in frontier states.”

Some events technically happened before the area was formally established as a state, but those events were still considered due to the prominence of that event, such as the founding of the Jamestown settlement in present-day Virginia. Also of note, the site ignored events that simply happened in a state that could’ve happened anywhere else and had the same impact, such as an international treaty signing.

To see the full list of events that shaped the nation, with pictures, to boot, click here.

Patch reporter Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

Photo credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images