Topics Related to This Day in North Carolina History
On January 1, 1996, North Carolina became the last state in the nation to grant its governor the veto power. The change met with the approval of voters the previous November when they overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment on the statewide ballot.
On January 15, 1948, Josephus Daniels, newspaper editor and former Secretary of the Navy, died in Raleigh. While at school in Wilson, Daniels developed a love of journalism and became the local editor of the Wilson Advance. He later bought the newspaper, and over the next few years purchased several other papers with various partners.
On January 4, 1856, a train accident on the Wilmington and Manchester Railroad occurred near Wilmington, giving rise to an enduring North Carolina legend. In the neighborhood of Hood’s Creek, about 8 miles outside of Wilmington, the locomotive on the night mail train was using steam faster than new water could be pumped into the boiler. The mechanical pump only worked when the wheels were turning, so the crew uncoupled the engine and ran it ahead to pump water without the heavy train attached.
A 1934 ad for Branch Banking and Trust. Image fromthe Wilson County Public Library.