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Gazetteer
Tar Heel, NC -- U.S. town in North Carolina
Population (2000): 70
Housing Units (2000): 36
Land area (2000): 0.225172 sq. miles (0.583192 sq. km)
Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
Total area (2000): 0.225172 sq. miles (0.583192 sq. km)
FIPS code: 66740
Located within: North Carolina (NC), FIPS 37
Location: 34.732353 N, 78.792284 W
ZIP Codes (1990): 28392
Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
Headwords:
Tar Heel, NC
Tar Heel
Wikipedia
Tar Heel

Tar Heel is a nickname applied to the U.S. state of North Carolina and its inhabitants. It is also the nickname of the University of North Carolina athletic teams, students, alumni, and fans.

The exact etymology of the nickname is unknown, but most folklore believe its roots come from the fact that tar, pitch, and turpentine created from the vast pine forests were some of North Carolina's most important exports early in the state's history. For a time after the American Civil War, the name Tar Heel was derogatory, but it was later reappropriated by the people of North Carolina. Because the exact history of the term is unknown, a number of legends have developed to explain it. One such legend claims it to be a nickname given during the U.S. Civil War, because of the state's importance on the Confederate side, and the fact that the troops "stuck to their ranks like they had tar on their heels". The term "Tar Heel" gained popularity during the Civil War.

Tar Heel (disambiguation)

Tar Heel (or Tarheel) is a nickname applied to the state and inhabitants of North Carolina as well as the nickname of the University of North Carolina athletic teams, students, alumni, and fans.

Tar Heel may also refer to:

Usage examples of "tar heel".

This was crazy - a man and woman who'd probably never been in the Tar Heel State before this, two people who knew nothing of the people or the geography of the area, telling lifelong residents how to do their job.

She helped herself to toast, grits, eggs over easy, another banana, and sourwood honey that the governor of North Carolina had sent last Christmas to slyly remind the Crimms that the Tar Heel state was far superior to the Commonwealth of Virginia.