Tar Heel

For other uses, see Tar Heel (disambiguation).

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

The origins of the Tar Heel nickname trace back to North Carolina's prominence from the mid-18th through the 19th century as a producer of turpentine, tar, pitch, and other materials from the state's plentiful pine trees.[1] "Tar Heel" (and a related version, "Rosin Heel") was often applied to the Poor White laborers who worked to produce tar, pitch, and turpentine. The nickname was embraced by Confederate North Carolina soldiers during the Civil War and grew in popularity as a nickname for the state and its citizens following the war.[2]

  1. ^ "Naval Stores | NCpedia". www.ncpedia.org. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
  2. ^ Baker, Bruce E. (2015). "Why North Carolinians Are Tar Heels: A New Explanation". Southern Cultures. 21 (4): 81–94. doi:10.1353/scu.2015.0041. ISSN 1534-1488. S2CID 147125369.