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Alabama - First African-American military pilots -

Formed in 1941, the famous Tuskegee Airmen, the first black US Army Air Corp, were trained—and segregated—at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama.

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Alaska - First midnight baseball game -

In 1906, the first midnight baseball game took place at Growden Memorial Park in Fairbanks. Known as the Midnight Sun Game, it's an amateur competition held every summer solstice, so it never gets too dark to play.

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Arizona - First McDonald's drive-thru -

McDonald's was founded in 1940, but it wasn't until January 1975 that the first McDonald's drive-thru was created, in Sierra Vista, a city in Cochise County, Arizona.

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Arkansas - First Walmart -

Rogers, Arkansas, is famous for being the city in which brothers Sam and James "Bud" Walton established the world's first Walmart in 1962. Pictured is Walton's Five and Dime, now the Walmart Historical Museum, in Bentonville.

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California - First state to legalize medical marijuana -

It was under the Compassionate Use Act in 1996 that California became the first state to legalize the use of medical marijuana.

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Colorado - First tampon with applicator -

In 1931, Colorado physician Earl Hass patented the first modern-day tampon with applicator.

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Connecticut - First commercial telephone exchange -

New Haven in Connecticut is where the world's first commercial telephone exchange began operations in 1878. Known as the First Telephone Exchange, it was situated in the city's Boardman Building, which has since been demolished.

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Delaware - First state to ratify the Constitution -

Delaware is often called the "First State" because back in 1787 it became the first of the 13 colonies to ratify the US Constitution.

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Florida - First electrolyte sports drink -

In 1965, a beverage was developed specifically for the Gators, the University of Florida's football team. It was made to replenish the carbohydrates and electrolytes that the players sweated out on the field. Today, that beverage is known as Gatorade, one of the most popular sports drinks in America.

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Georgia - First chartered public university in America -

The University of Georgia was officially acknowledged by the state in 1785, becoming the first chartered public university in the country.

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Hawaii - First state to outlaw billboards -

In 1927, the authorities in Hawaii outlawed the use of advertising billboards across the islands, 32 years before Hawaii achieved statehood but ahead of three other states (Vermont, Alaska, and Maine), who similarly slapped a ban on this popular and effective method of promotion.

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Idaho - First chair lift -

The world's first chair lift lurched into life in December 1936 at Sun Valley Resort in Ketchum, Idaho.

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Illinois - First Ferris wheel -

It was at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 that the world's first Ferris wheel made its debut.

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Indiana - First theme park -

Modern America brims with theme parks. The country's first was Santa Claus Land in Indiana, which opened on August 3, 1946. This exciting new attraction was also a world first.

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Iowa - First to desegregate schools -

In a seismic move, Iowa became the first state to desegregate schools, in 1886. This was after the 12-year-old daughter of African-American activist Alexander Clark was turned away from a classroom simply because she was black. Clark sued the school, which in turn led to the intervention by the Iowa Supreme Court and the landmark case Clark v. Board of School Directors.

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Kansas - First Pizza Hut -

Although Pizza Hut is headquartered in Texas, the very first Pizza Hut restaurant opened its doors in Wichita, Kansas, in 1958. The original building still stands, preserved for posterity after being moved to the Wichita State University campus.

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Kentucky - First commercial winery in the US -

Kentucky is forever associated with bourbon, so it will surprise many to learn that the state is also home to the first commercial winery in the US, care of Swiss immigrant John James Dufour, who founded his vineyard in 1796 in Lexington.

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Louisiana - First indoor movie theater -

America's, and the world's, first indoor movie theater, Vitascope Hall, opened in New Orleans on July 26, 1896. The auditorium could seat an impressive 400 people.

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Maine - First state to ban alcohol ahead of the Prohibition era -

Maine can blame American prohibitionist Neal Dow, founder of the Total Abstinence Society, for the ban the state imposed on alcohol in 1851, long before America went dry in 1920. For his efforts, Dow was bestowed the title "Father of Prohibition."

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Maryland - First airport -

College Park in Maryland is an unlikely setting for the world's first airport. But in 1909, Wilbur Wright (more on him later) stationed himself there to train pilots to fly the recently invented Wright plane. An airport was subsequently built to accommodate the endeavor and to house an ever expanding fleet of aircraft.

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Massachusetts - First subway in the Americas -

New York's is maybe bigger and bolder, but it was the Boston subway that was the first in the US to whisk passengers below ground to their destinations. It opened on September 1, 1895, and in fact was the first subway network in the entire Americas to commence operations.

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Michigan - First state to abolish the death penalty -

A contentious subject to this day, use of the death penalty has divided public opinion in the US for decades. But as far back as 1847, Michigan decided to abolish capital punishment for good, becoming the first state to do so.

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Minnesota - First air-conditioned home -

In 1914, Minnesota became the first state in the country to see a home air conditioning unit fitted into a private property. The super cool appliance was the brainchild of Willis Carrier (pictured left), who placed the first unit into the home of Charles Gilbert Gates.

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Mississippi - First public university for women -

In 1884, the state of Mississippi was the first to fund a school specifically catering to women: the Mississippi Industrial Institute and College for the Education of White Girls. Its name was changed to the Mississippi State College for Women in 1920. Today, the facility is known as the Mississippi University for Women, although it's been a co-ed institution since 1992. Notable alumni include Pulitzer Prize-winning author Eudora Welty.

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Missouri - First commercially available pre-sliced bread -

Missouri knew which way its bread was buttered when in 1928 a jeweler named Otto Frederick Rohwedder patented the first machine capable of slicing bread. To many, it was the best thing to come along since, er, sliced bread!

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Montana - First state to place Gideon Bible in hotel rooms -

The practice of placing a copy of the Gideon Bible in American hotel rooms is said to have originated in Montana, apparently after two traveling salesmen met in a hotel lobby armed with the same idea.

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Nebraska - First state to celebrate National Arbor Day -

Nebraska newspaper editor and politician Julius S. Morton is credited with establishing National Arbor Day after his initiative to encourage people to plant more trees caught the public imagination. The state celebrated its first Arbor Day on April 10, 1872. By the 1920s, every state in the country was doing the same thing. 

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Nevada - First state to give African-American men the vote -

On March 1, 1869, Nevada became the first state to ratify the 15th Amendment to the US Constitution, effectively giving African-American men the right to vote.

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New Hampshire - First state to grow potatoes -

A tract of land called Common Field in Nutfield, New Hampshire, is the location where in 1719 a group of Irish-Scottish immigrants harvested the first-ever potato grown in North America.

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New Jersey - First intercollegiate football game -

On November 6, 1869, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Princeton and Rutgers University kicked off the nation's first intercollegiate football game. Rutgers won the historic competition, 6 to 4.

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New Mexico - First detonation of a nuclear weapon -

The first-ever detonation of a nuclear weapon took place in Socorro, New Mexico, on July 16, 1945. Twenty-one days later, a similar device decimated the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

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New York - First presidential oath of office -

The balcony of New York City's Federal Hall served as the venue for the first presidential oath of office, taken by George Washington on April 30, 1789.

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North Carolina - First flight of an airplane -

Kitty Hawk in North Carolina is where the first controlled, sustained flight of an engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft took place, on December 17, 1903. Piloting the machine was Orville Wright, while his brother, Wilbur, ran alongside the wingtip.

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North Dakota - First encounter with a grizzly bear -

The first-ever recorded encounter with a grizzly bear took place in early 1804, when members of the Lewis and Clark expedition stumbled across one of the animals near what today is the city of Williston.

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Ohio - First professional baseball team -

Ohio is known as the state in which the Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first professional baseball team, was established, in 1869.

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Oklahoma - First official "tornado warning" -

On March 25, 1948, Oklahoma City issued the nation's first-ever "tornado warning" just hours before a twister tore through Tinker Air Force Base, damaging or destroying a large number of aircraft.

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Oregon - First one-way streets -

Eugene in Oregon was the first city in the United States to have one-way streets. In 1948, a 40-square block, one-way business district was created to ease traffic congestion.

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Pennsylvania - First capital city -

Philadelphia served as the national capital from 1790 to 1800. On May 14, 1800, the nation's capital moved to Washington.

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Rhone Island - First traffic law -

The nation's first traffic law was passed in Rhode Island in 1678 when the state banned galloping horses on streets in Newport.

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South Carolina - First shots of the Civil War -

On April 12, 1861, the first shots of the American Civil War rang out when South Carolina Militia artillery fired from shore on Fort Sumter, a Union island garrison located near Charleston.

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South Dakota - First modern hot air balloon system -

A technological first took place near Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in the late 1950s when propane instead of hydrogen was used to heat the air in the envelope of a new balloon to create lift. On its maiden flight, it stayed aloft for 25 minutes and traveled three miles.

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Tennessee - First Cherokee syllabary -

In 1821, a Cherokee Native American and Tennessee native called Sequoyah developed the first written language for his people, a Cherokee syllabary. In doing so, he became the only known person in recorded history to create an alphabet.

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Texas - First rodeo -

While it's argued that an early form of the rodeo was developed in Mexico, it's generally accepted that the world's first proper rodeo show took place in Pecos, Texas, in 1883.

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Utah - First KFC franchise -

While those in Kentucky would love to give you an argument, the first-ever KFC restaurant was in fact opened in Salt Lake City, Utah, on September 24, 1952.

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Vermont - First state to abolish slavery -

In 1777, as an independent republic, Vermont, in response to abolitionists' calls across the colonies to end slavery, banned it outright. Incredibly, it wasn't until 1865 that the 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolished slavery across the entire country.

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Virginia - First Thanksgiving -

Thanksgiving was first held in Virginia in 1619 by a group of English settlers shortly after they'd disembarked the Margaret on the James River at the Berkeley Hundred colony.

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Washington - First Starbucks -

Seattle is home to the very first Starbucks (pictured), which opened on March 30, 1971. As of 2023, there are 38,038 Starbucks stores worldwide, according to Statista.

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West Virginia - First steamboat -

The first steamboat was launched by James Rumsey in the Potomac River at Shepherdstown in 1787.

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Wisconsin - First kindergarten -

The first kindergarten in the United States opened in 1856 in Watertown, Wisconsin. The building that housed it is today listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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Wyoming - First national park -

Although found in parts of Montana and Idaho, Yellowstone National Park is mostly located in Wyoming. It was opened in 1872 to become the first-ever national park in the United States and the world.

Sources: (The Saturday Evening Post) (Reader's Digest) (The National Constitution Center) (Statista) (American Memory Collection) 

See also: The most beautiful national parks in the world

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