The Colonial and State Records of North Carolina has been an extraordinary resource for students of North Carolina’s history for over one hundred years. The series includes documents and materials from throughout the country and from several European repositories covering the earliest days of North Carolina’s settlement by Europeans through the ratification of the United States Constitution.
The publication of twenty-six volumes of historical materials, appearing between 1886 and 1907, with a four-volume master index, marked a significant achievement for the state’s historians and provided a benefit to the entire state of North Carolina. The turmoil and uncertainty of the proprietary years, the attempts at consolidating power and improving life under royal stewardship, and the emergence of an independent state were documented here through individual, governmental, and organizational records. These documents were handwritten originals that are often difficult for non-experts to read, and some of the originals have disappeared since publication.